A Sirius Guardian
by Rachelfairynose
Summary: Sirius does the responsible thing and stays in England after he escapes in PoA. He takes Harry to Grimmauld to train him because obviously Dumbles isn't going to do it. Eventually Dark Harry. Eventual Slash. Manipulative Dumbles. Weasley bashing. Rating for language and eventual blood and gore.
1. Chapter 1 Goodbye Privet Drive

**A/N: Okay, this is the first chapter of** _ **A Sirius Guardian**_ **. I'm hoping this will be a long story, going at least into sixth year before things resolve themselves. I think it will end up being a Lunar Haise story (That's my ship name for a Luna, Harry, Blaise romance so yes this will be semi-slashy) I'm not sure if I will go into the sex scenes yet or if I will just do a "fade to black" type of thing…we shall see. Anyway, if you like Dumbledore, this story is not for you. If you like the Weasleys (apart from the twins, because come on, who doesn't like the twins) this story is not for you. They shall be bashed. It will not be overt but they are not good characters in this story. (Same for Remus, I have my issues with him).**

 **Other than that, I hope you enjoy! If you have any suggestions please leave them in the comments. Thanks for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, just playing with J.K.R.'s wonderful work.**

"What are you playing at Albus? Harry is my Godson, he needs me!" Sirius' voice shook with emotion as he glared at the old wizard across from him.

"Sirius, my boy, I've explained this already…" Dumbledore closed his eyes wearily and leaned back in his throne-like chair.

"Then explain it again, apparently I didn't quite comprehend it the first time." Sirius growled back.

The aged Headmaster sighed and opened his eyes slowly. He had been arguing with Sirius about young Harry Potter's summer arrangements for over an hour now.

Sirius caught the exasperated look that Dumbledore sent Remus, who was hovering worriedly behind his friend, and paused. His mind whirled through different explanations for Dumbledore's reluctance to allow him access to Harry.

 _He obviously wants to keep Harry isolated, away from the Wizarding World. So much so that Lily and James' Will was ignored…But he isn't aware that I know that….hmmmm…why is Moony so ok with this? And why did the old goat leave me to rot in Azkaban?_

Sirius shook his head in frustration, bringing his attention back to the matter at hand just as Dumbledore opened his mouth to _explain_ himself again.

 _Explain,_ Sirius snorted to himself, _more like talk his way out of the situation…_

"I have placed young Harry in a safe environment, away from the Wizarding World for his own safety. He is cut off from Owls and other means of communication so that he cannot be tracked. Rest assured, my dear boy, he is safe and happy, is that not what you wish for the boy, Sirius?" Dumbledore said in a grandfatherly tone, twinkling over the top of his half-moon spectacles.

 _Happy? A boy happy with his home does not jump at the opportunity to live with a complete stranger…Godfather or not_ , Sirius thought, _something is not right here..._

Out loud Sirius heaved a sigh and let his shoulders slump as if in submission. He took note of the subtle gleam of smug glee that appeared in the Headmaster's eyes before it was quickly covered.

"Okay, Albus, I trust you…I just worry about him. He is all I have left…" Sirius let an edge of grief tinge his words.

 _You are not the only one who can act around here, Headmaster,_ Sirius thought viciously.

"I'm so glad that you can see reason, my boy!" Dumbledore said jovially, though his smile had a condescending edge to it that Sirius did not miss. "I think getting out of England for now would be beneficial for you Sirius, does your family not have properties in France?"

"Yes, one in Caluire-et-Cuire; near the river. And another in Ares on the coast…perhaps some sunshine _would_ do me good." Sirius mumbled thoughtfully.

 _Yeah right, trying to get me to leave the country…fat chance old man!_ He felt a light legilimency probe touch his shields, so he allowed a feeling of resignation to slip out. Sirius caught another gleam of smugness flash through the Headmaster's eyes.

"Good, good. Remus, why don't you escort Sirius here to the edge of the wards?" Dumbledore said with one last twinkling smile for his old students.

With one last sigh Sirius followed Moony down the revolving staircase and out into the deserted hallway. He noticed that his old friend seemed to be a little more reserved around him than he used to be.

At first Sirius just assumed that it was because Remus felt guilty about his stay at Azkaban, but now he wasn't so sure. It seemed to Sirius that his old friend was following Dumbledore with a kind of reverence that, in all honesty, scared him a bit.

 _I need to see how deep his loyalty runs…_ Sirius thought as the silence stretched.

"Moony?" The werewolf jumped slightly at the sound of Sirius' voice.

"Yeah, Padfoot?"

"I was just wondering…why didn't you ever check up on Harry?" Sirius asked hesitantly, afraid of spooking the werewolf, but determined to get his answers.

Remus paused and looked at Sirius like he had grown an extra head before replying in a tone that clearly questioned Sirius' mental state.

"Because Dumbledore said it wasn't safe to? Besides, why would I need to check on him? Dumbledore said he was safe and happy."

 _That's it? Dumbledore said? Oh Moony…I thought you were smarter than that._ Sirius thought, both surprised and saddened by his friend's answer.

"Oh. Right. Of course." He said uncomfortably before changing the subject slightly. "Well you had a year with him, can you tell me about him? He seems to have inherited James and Lily's magical talent." Sirius chuckled lightly.

"Huh? No, Harry seems pretty average to me Pads, I was kind of disappointed to be honest; he struggled with everything I threw at him."

"What? Moony, he drove off over a hundred Dementors at once! If that's not talent then I don't know what is."

"Pads, you were hurt and probably in shock. I would guess there was only one or two Dementors and Harry held them off until help arrived."

Sirius had a determined look in his eyes as he turned to his friend, "No Moony, I'm sure that there was at least a hundred. They had me pinned by the lake, I was sure I was a goner. Then Harry saved me, with a corporal Patronus. It was a stag, Moony, a bloody blinding stag!"

"I was trying to teach him that charm for half the term, Pads, the best he could do was a light mist. There's no way that he could produce a corporal Patronus. You must have been seeing things."

 _This isn't like him… he was the brains of the Marauders and now he's refusing every piece of evidence given to him... what the hell is going on?_

"I guess..." Sirius said with a dejected sigh.

They walked rest of the way in awkward silence, neither one knowing what else to say. When they finally reached the edge of the wards Sirius gave Moony a long, sad look then apperated away.

xxXxx

"And don't come back in until that bloody garden looks perfect, Freak!" Vernon bellowed as he launched Harry out the back door.

Harry flinched in pain, the welts on his back oozing fresh blood, as he landed heavily on the grass. He glowered angrily over his aching shoulder but his Uncle just slammed the patio door.

"Bloody git," he mumbled, dragging himself to his knees and crawling awkwardly to the waiting flowerbeds.

Harry absolutely loathed coming back to Privet drive during the summer. Ever since he started attending primary school his Uncle Vernon had thought it would be appropriate to beat the "freakishness" out of him. So his summers weren't as relaxing as his classmates'.

For as long as Harry could remember Vernon had favored a quick backhanded slap to Harry's face whenever something went wrong. It didn't matter if it were Harry's fault or not. But the abuse (as much as Harry hated to think it, there really was no other word for it) had gotten steadily worse since he had started Hogwarts.

Now it was commonplace for Harry to feel Vernon's belt at least once a week, on top of Dudley using him as a practice dummy for his boxing moves.

Still angry Harry started yanking weeds from the flowerbed in front of him as he continued to grumble under his breath.

"Useless freak am I? Bloody idiots, I cook their food. I could poison the lot of them and no one would ever know…" Lost in his anger Harry almost missed the quiet whine coming from a bush to his right.

Looking around in confusion Harry spotted a familiar black form watching him from a cluster of shrubs at the edge of the yard.

"Padfoot?" He whispered in shock before moving closer to the grim. Padfoot took a step back and dropped a piece of parchment on the ground then pushed it towards Harry with his nose.

"What are you doing here Padfoot?" Harry asked, continuing to get closer to the animagus. Padfoot made a low growling noise and Harry stopped.

"What? I know you're Padfoot, so why are you growling at me?" The young wizard asked in confusion. Padfoot rolled his eyes and nudged the parchment closer to Harry again. Finally getting the hint Harry picked it up and broke the seal.

 _Harry,_

 _Stop looking at me idiot, sheesh you're as bad at this cloak and dagger shite as James was! Look, I need to talk to you. Meet me by the swings in that little park up the way ASAP. Try to be inconspicuous, eh? Dumbles has a guard watching you, and I don't want the old coot to know I am here._

 _Padfoot_

Harry looked up, a frown on his face, and realized that Padfoot was gone. Confusion overtaking his anger for the moment he resigned himself to weeding the garden but his mind was racing.

 _Why does Sirius want to talk to me in secret? And why is Dumbledore watching me? Why doesn't he want Dumbledore to know he is here? I thought he flew off on Buckbeak…_

After an hour of pulling prickly weeds in the summer heat a tired, confused and still slightly angry Harry Potter made his way inside hoping to grab a quick shower in order to wash the sweat out of the stinging wounds on his back.

"That garden better be perfect, boy." Vernon growled as Harry made his way through the kitchen.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," he replied emotionlessly. Vernon grunted without raising his beady eyes from the telly. Harry rolled his eyes and started towards the stairs but his Aunt's voice stopped him.

"Where do you think you're going, freak?"

"I was going to wash up Aunt Petunia," Harry said without bothering to turn around.

"And waste our water? I think not, get outside! And stay out there until it's time to start dinner!" She said, shoving him out the front door.

Harry hissed in pain from her rough shove to his back, but immediately took off toward the park where Sirius was waiting for him.

Halfway to the park Harry remembered that Sirius had mentioned that Dumbledore was having people watch him. He slowed down and strained his ears, trying to catch the sound of footsteps behind him. He heard nothing so he shrugged and picked up his pace.

 _Oh well, what would I do if someone were following anyway? Its not like I can use magic…_ Harry snorted shaking his head at the thought of the Dursley's reaction to another ministry owl.

Within a few minutes Harry made it to the ramshackle park and made a beeline for the broken swing set in the back corner. He looked around curiously but found no sign of his Godfather.

"Hey Pup," Sirius' voice came from the tree line behind the park swings.

Startled Harry whipped around and practically tackled his Godfather in a hug. Ignoring the pain, Harry relished in the feel of Sirius' arms around him. He couldn't hide his wince when Sirius patted his back as they broke apart, though, and fervently hoped Sirius hadn't noticed.

"How have you been?" Sirius asked with narrowed eyes, he had indeed noticed the tension in his Godson and the wince that flashed across his drawn face.

"I'm fine." Harry said automatically. Sirius looked at the teen incredulously, one eyebrow raised, but Harry merely shrugged.

"Harry, Lilly told my what kind of person her sister was, I know that they can't be treating you right, you're thin as a rail."

Harry bowed his head and said, "I'll be fine Sirius, but you shouldn't be here. The Aurors and muggle police are still looking for you."

 _Clever change of topic, but that won't work on me._ Sirius vowed to himself that he would have a serious (heh heh) discussion with Harry about the Dursleys sometime over the summer.

"I cast a notice-me-not charm and a muggle repelling ward on this part of the park." He said dismissively. "Now, how would you like to stay with me this summer? Away from those muggles, eh?"

Harry stared at his Godfather in shock for a moment before breaking into a wide grin. "Really? Sirius, I would love to, but…" his voice trailed off as a frown slowly formed on his face.

"But what, Pup?" Sirius asked, worried that Harry didn't want to spend time with him after all.

"But Dumbledore seems determined to keep me here with the Dursley's, Sirius…I don't know why, and if he has people watching the house…" again Harry's voice trailed off, but Sirius had a wide grin on his face.

"Don't worry Pup, I have a plan," he said with a mischievous smirk. "But first, I think we need to talk about the _illustrious_ Headmaster." Sarcasm dripped off of his description of Dumbledore and Harry quirked an eyebrow in question.

"What do you mean, Padfoot?" Harry asked slowly.

"I mean, Harry, that I don't trust that old fool as far as I can throw him." Sirius said, "Please tell me you have noticed some of his manipulations?"

"Yeah, actually," Harry said, sighing in relief that Sirius didn't seem to blindly worship Dumbledore like Professor Lupin did. "I have been questioning some of his oh so _brilliant_ ideas for awhile now."

"Good, Pup." Sirius seemed to slump in relief, "I was worried I would have to un-brainwash you or something," he chuckled.

"Right," Harry rolled his eyes at his Dogfather's antics, "So what is your brilliant plan to spring me then?"

"Ah, it _is_ brilliant if I do say so myself," Sirius puffed out his chest to Harry's amusement, "You just need to have each of them read this," he held out a piece of parchment with a few lines of text on it.

 _Harry Potter is here. He is in his room, you have already fed him and you don't want to see him._

Harry looked up at Sirius, confused about how these few lines of text would do anything other than piss the Dursleys off. At Harry's questioning look Sirius elaborated.

"The parchment has a spell on it, Pup. Once they read it a compulsion charm will take hold to make them believe what's written there. Its not very strong, but it should work fine on muggles."

"Okay, that takes care of the Dursleys but what about Dumbles' minions?" Harry asked.

"Well that is where this little beauty comes in," Sirius replied with another sly smirk. He pulled a small, plain, white doll out of his pocket and handed it to Harry.

Harry took the doll carefully and looked at it closely. It was made of some sort of stone and had no defining features whatsoever. Harry handed it back with a shake of his head.

"I don't get it, what is a doll going to do?" He asked.

"This, my dear Godson, is a Golem." Sirius said, obviously expecting Harry to understand the significance. Harry just shook his head and shrugged to show his ignorance.

Sirius sighed and seemed to deflate for a second before explaining himself; "You just lay this doll on your bed tonight Harry, and smear a couple drops of your blood onto it. It should turn into an exact copy of you."

"An exact copy?" Harry asked incredulously.

"It won't be able to talk or think of course," Sirius rolled his eyes, "but you can program a couple basic functions in. Have it walk to the desk and sit for a while, then cross the window to the door every few hours…should fool the Order. And since it contains your blood it should fool Dumbles' wards too."

By the time Sirius had finished his explanation Harry was sporting a huge grin. He grabbed his Godfather in another rough hug but this time Sirius was careful not to put too much pressure on Harry's obviously tender back.

 _Hmmm…I will have to have words with him about that once I get him out of here…_ Sirius mused.

The pair spent a few more minutes finalizing their plan before Harry glanced at his watch and realized he would be late cooking dinner if he didn't get back quickly. After a hasty, "Tonight Pup, I will be here, good luck!" from Sirius, Harry ran back to Number Four to start dinner.

xxXxx

"Uncle Vernon?" Harry approached his Uncle in the living room after the dinner dishes were all washed, dried and put away.

"What boy?" Vernon spat.

"Could you read this please?" Harry ground out as politely as he could, holding the enchanted slip of parchment out. He had already gotten Petunia and Dudley to read it.

"What is this rubbish?" Vernon snatched the parchment from Harry's hand and ran his beady eyes over it. As soon as he finished reading it he handed it back to Harry and seemed to forget the teen was even in the room.

Harry shrugged; this suited him fine. He made his way to the cupboard under the stairs, pulled his trunk out then made his way up to his room to pack the rest of his belongings.

He quickly but carefully packed everything he owned, which wasn't much. He then went to Hedwig and opened her cage.

"I don't know where I'm going Hed, can you follow me once I'm out of the house?" He asked her, stroking her soft chest feathers. She hooted softly and seemed to nod her head before taking off out the window.

He watched her ghost away into the trees before turning to survey his empty room. There was still roughly an hour before nightfall so he pulled his battered photo album from his trunk and settled in to wait.

As he looked through the photo album, he thought about how different this summer would be now he would be staying with Sirius

 _No more 'Boxing training,' no more yelling from Vernon, no more condescending insults from Petunia, I can't think of anything better…_ He thought, finally feeling the excitement he had been suppressing all day.

He smiled and looked back down at the photo album in his lap. His mum and dad were holding each other, twirling around a fountain, smiling at the camera without a care in the world. He lost himself in thought, wondering how drastically different his life would have been if they had lived.

 _I doubt I ever would have even met the Dursleys, it's apparent that Petunia didn't like my Mum. I wonder if they ever got along, maybe Sirius will know._ Harry mused.

Finally breaking out of his introspection, Harry looked up at his window. The sun had sunk below the tree line and night was falling fast; time to activate the golem.

Harry rose to his feet and pulled the key to his escape from his pocket. He laid the stone-like doll on his bed and paused. He felt like smacking himself for forgetting to grab a knife from the kitchen.

"Stupid! Now what…" he growled to himself. His eyes fell on his trunk, "Potions' knife, duh…"

He opened his trunk and dug around until he found his potions' kit. His hands were shaking as he yanked the lid open and grabbed the small knife. Shivering in a weird mix of excitement and fear, the teen scrambled back to his bed and, without pausing to think about it, jammed the point of the knife into his palm.

Harry watched with morbid curiosity as his blood fell onto the doll. With a blinding white flash of magic the golem grew in size and started to look more and more human. After a minute it looked exactly like Harry, down to the scruffy hair and scar on his forehead.

"Brilliant." Harry said with a smile. "Right, look you." He addressed the Golem in a no-nonsense tone; "Every few hours or so you will get up, walk to the desk and look like you are reading a book. Then at irregular intervals you will walk over to the door, stand out of sight for a few minutes then come back over by the window. Understand?"

Harry waited until the Golem nodded its head before continuing, "Okay, be sure to lay on the bed for at least eight hours every night. That should convince whoever's outside…"

After one last glance around the room he grabbed his trunk and Hedwig's cage then pulled his Father's invisibility cloak over himself and his things. It was awkward but he made his way down the stairs and crept out the front door without being noticed.

Once on the sidewalk Harry picked up his pace, still being careful to keep covered by the cloak. A few minutes of walking later he was glowing with excitement as he finally spotted Padfoot's shaggy form in the park.

The large shaggy grim got to his feet as sniffed the air as Harry drew closer. He gave a low whine and turned toward the tree line, with one last look over his shoulder at Harry's invisible form he darted into the trees.

Harry found him, once again in human form, in a small clearing a few hundred yards from the park. The teen was still grinning widely as he pulled off his father's cloak; even a trek through the woods in the dark couldn't dampen his current mood.

"You're looking pretty pleased, Pup. Some bird give you a goodbye kiss then?" Sirius smirked.

"Nope, even better," Harry said with a laugh, "I'm free of Dursleys! For a whole summer!" He did a wide victory dance around the small clearing, whooping loudly the whole time.

 _Damn…either he is way too excitable, or I underestimated his dislike for Lily's sister…_ Sirius mused as he watched his Godson celebrate.

"Whoa, slow down, Pup!" Sirius chuckled, grabbing Harry as he stumbled over his own trunk. "We have all summer to celebrate, but right now we need to get out of here. We aren't home free quite yet."

Breathing heavily from exertion Harry nodded in understanding. He grabbed his things once more and grinned at his Dogfather, his bright green eyes wide and expectant.

Shaking his head and mumbling something that sounded oddly like "crazy kids" Sirius pulled Harry close to his side.

"Alright, Pup, hold on tight. We are going to Apparate to my place." He said, "It feels bloody dreadful, but its quick and damn near untraceable." Harry nodded and tightened his hold on both Sirius and his trunk. Sirius had Hedwig's cage in his other hand.

"Alright, on three…oh and you might want to close your eyes." Sirius said. "One…two…three!"

With a soft *Pop* they were gone.


	2. Chapter 2 Grimmauld Place

**A/N: Hey everyone! Wow I am so happy with the response to this story! Thank you to everyone who has Followed, Favorited, or Reviewed! You are all awesome! Okay, this chapter is a bit longer than the last (Okay, like double the length of the last one…oops haha) but that is why it took so long to get up. I hope you all enjoy it! Thanks again!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I wish I did! Thanks to J.K.R. for such fun characters to play with!**

The pair *popped* back into existence in a small courtyard across from a run down bank of homes. Harry lurched forward, gasping for breath. His head was spinning and he felt Sirius' hands on his shoulders as he leaned over and lost what little food was in his stomach.

"Easy, Pup." Sirius said, calmly supporting Harry's shoulders. "I know its rough, you should have seen James' face his first time." He chuckled.

"Uhhg…" Harry groaned, "That was awful. Uhg. Just bloody _awful_. Never again." He shook his head, then immediately regretted the action as his vision swam and his stomach rolled again.

Sirius was trying to bite back his laughter, his shoulders shaking with the effort. He helped his Godson stand up and pulled the teen's arm over his shoulders before grabbing the battered trunk with his free hand.

"Think you can manage the bird cage, Pup?" Sirius asked with a smirk.

Harry rolled his eyes but grabbed Hedwig's cage with a shaky hand. They stumbled across the street and stopped between houses eleven and thirteen. Harry stared up at the empty spot for a few seconds before turning an inquiring eye on his Godfather.

Sirius grinned then leaned down and whispered directly into Harry's ear, "Sirius Black's ancestral home, the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, is located at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place."

As soon as Sirius finished speaking the area in front of Harry became active. It looked as though the decrepit house was sprouting up out of the very soil between numbers eleven and thirteen. Number twelve pushed it's way up, roughly shoving eleven and thirteen out of the way, and within seconds Harry was staring at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place; the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.

"Kind of run down, isn't it?" Harry asked with a sly smirk on his face. He glanced up at Sirius and noticed an evil smile forming on his face as well. He shivered at the look of pure mischief in the old Marauder's eye.

"Oh dear, I suppose you're right Pup." Sirius said with an exaggerated frown. "This is no place for my little Prince, no no, definitely not." He heaved a sigh; "I guess its back to the Dursleys until I can find a more… _suitable_ , home for you…" He began tugging Harry back the way they had come before looking down at his Godson.

Sirius lost it at the look of utter horror on the teen's face. He was howling with laughter so hard that tears were streaming down his face and he was hanging on to Harry to keep himself upright. Harry looked at him with wide eyes for a moment before realization hit.

"You arse!" Harry yelped and promptly pushed he laughing man off of his shoulders. Sirius fell to the ground trying to control his laughter but one look at the mixture of anger and disbelief on Harry's face had him howling again.

The young wizard stalked up the walkway to the shabby, pealing black door of Number Twelve, growling under his breath about dog brained Godfathers the whole way. He stood on the door stoop with his arms crossed and waited in a huff for Sirius to catch up.

Once he had caught his breath, Sirius pulled himself and Harry's trunk up to the door. He paused and grinned down at his Godson but Harry just rolled his eyes and gave a short huff of annoyance.

"Alright, alright, sheesh, keep your knickers on." Sirius chuckled. He raised his wand and tapped once on the aged black door. Harry heard an ominously loud _click_ and the door swung open. Before Harry could move into the house Sirius snagged his arm and whispered a warning.

"Careful, Pup. Be quiet in the entry hall. My _dear_ mother's portrait is a right nasty piece of work, if woken." Harry nodded and tiptoed through the door.

He gazed around at the dark, dank interior incredulously. _This is Sirius' house? Jeez, the Blacks took their name right serious…_ Harry mused, then snickered under his breath at his own pun. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Sirius' elbow against his arm. Sirius jerked his head towards the stairs on Harry's right.

They made their way up two flights of stairs in silence; Harry took the time to gaze around at the dark, peeling wallpaper and ornate, silver, snake shaped doorknobs and candle brackets. Sirius came to a stop in front of a door with the name Regulus Arcturus Black embossed in silver upon it.

"Okay, Pup. This is your room." Sirius said, grinning like a loon.

"Who's Regulus?" Harry asked curiously. Sirius' face fell for a moment before he seemed to force the smile back up.

"Oh, he was my kid brother…made our parents so _proud,_ he did. Became a Death Eater right out of Hogwarts…"Sirius shook his head. "He was a good kid when we were younger, I think he just wanted our parents' approval. Anyway, he was killed by You-Know-Who himself just a year after he signed up, he must have gotten in over his head and tried to back out or something…"

"Oh, Sirius, I-I'm sorry…" Harry stammered, concerned by the look of sorrow on his Godfather's face. At the sound of Harry's voice Sirius seemed to shake himself and his grin returned full force.

"It's okay, Pup. He made his choices and it was a long time ago. Now why don't you get settled in? It's been a long day, we can talk more in the morning, eh?"

"Yea, ok Padfoot." Harry said uncertainly. He stepped into the room, _his room_ , and crossed over to set Hedwig's cage on the desk. He noticed that the room was decorated in shades of blue, with Slytherin green sprinkled in; a Slytherin flag above the bed, a green and black scarf hanging on the desk chair.

Sirius pushed Harry's trunk up against the end of the four-poster bed, then grabbed the teen in a rough hug. Harry was frozen for a second before he let himself melt into the embrace, the pain in his back mostly forgotten.

"Okay, goodnight Pup." He said before closing the door behind him. Harry stared at the closed door for a few second, blinking owlishly as tears threatened to fall. He had never had anyone care about him quite so much as Sirius seemed to, and his emotions were starting to catch up to him.

 _Get it together Potter, what are you five?_ Harry shook his head pulled an old shirt of Dudley's out of his trunk to use as a nightshirt. As he got undressed to change, Harry looked at his back in the full-length mirror that hung on the inside of the door.

There were swollen, red and purple welts crisscrossing his back, from his shoulders to the top of his pant line. Some of the welts were bleeding slightly and under the new, raw wounds a lattice pattern of pale white scars marred his skin.

Harry shuddered and pulled the large shirt on; it was riddled with holes and was so big that it hung off of his thin frame like a tent. He crawled into bed and was shocked at how comfortable it was. Much better than his bed at Hogwarts and leagues apart form the sad excuse of a mattress he had at the Dursleys. He sighed contentedly and easily fell asleep.

xxXxx

Sirius sighed as he closed the door to Regulus', no _Harry's_ , room. He was dreading his next step, but he would do what he had to in order to protect his Godson. Straightening his shoulders, Sirius walked, calm but determined, to his Father's study. He hesitated only a moment before opening the door and stepping in.

Memories flooded his mind as he looked around the dusty room; _he was six and getting Crucio'd for breaking Mother's vase. He was eight and Cousin Bellatrix was standing in front of him, defying his Father in order to protect him from punishment for some indiscretion. He was nine and his Father was making him sit in at Family Meetings to 'learn the ropes', he watched as is Grandfather Arcturus made him Heir instead of his Father and mandated that Sirius not be punished for this decision. He was eleven and his father was telling him that he would be disowned if he was Sorted anywhere but Slytherin._

Sirius shook himself out of his memories, and wiped the tears from his face. Now was not the time to wallow in self-pity.

"I am better than him." He growled, a fierce scowl on his face. "Grandfather saw it, I will prove that I have what it takes. For Harry." Determination coursing through him, Sirius moved toward the huge desk his Father once used.

He walked slowly around the desk and pulled the ornate chair out. It was dusty, but a wave of Sirius' wand took care of the filth and left a dark wooden chair with black cushioned upholstery. Green and gold buttons glinted from the seat and back, giving the chair an intimidating vibe of obscene wealth. A vibe Sirius' Father loved to encourage whenever he could.

With a sigh Sirius sank into the chair and pulled it up to the desk. There was paperwork scattered over the surface, it was faded and covered in dust like the rest of the house, but Sirius could make out some of the writing and determined that it was correspondence with some of his Father's fellow investors.

 _My investors now, better get used to it if I'm going to take up Headship._ Sirius thought to himself. "It's for Harry." He said out loud, making that his mantra. "I will do anything for Harry."

Sirius spent a few minutes scouring the desk and found a few things of interest. One was the Black Family Vault Keys. All six of them were bound together on a leather cord that glowed red, then green when Sirius touched it, seeming to accept his claim on the keys.

 _Well these will come in handy,_ Sirius mused, eyeing the keys happily. He also found a few letters from his Grandfather confirming, rather forcefully, that Sirius was indeed NOT disowned from the family and as such still the Heir. Sirius smirked at this, able to picture quite clearly what his Father would have written to get this kind of response from his Grandfather.

Arcturus Black was a strong, fierce man in life. He had always put the safety of the Family before anything else. That was why Sirius had always wondered why his Grandfather had allowed his family to fall in so deep with the Dark Lord. Sure, Arcturus was as deep in the Dark Arts as the rest of the Family, but he had never been as into the Blood Purity bigotry as some others.

He had always been a strict but fair Lord Black, which is why it was not so shocking when he left the Heirship with Sirius even after he was sorted into Gryffindor. Sirius recalled a conversation he had with his Grandfather not long before heading off to Hogwarts.

" _Sirius, a word, if you please." His Grandfather's voice was low, but the command was plain, even if it was phrased as a request._

" _Of course, Grandfather," Sirius stood quickly from his chair in the library and followed his Grandfather to the Study._

 _Once the door was closed and they were seated, his Grandfather gave him a piercing look. "I want you to know, Sirius, that I am aware that your Father has threatened to disown you should you be Sorted outside Slytherin." He stopped and seemed to wait for a response from the young boy._

 _Sirius blinked at his Grandfather for a few seconds, trying to formulate a response but he was unsure where this conversation was heading. "Um, yeah, I-I mean yes, Grandfather. He did say that." The corners of his Grandfather's lips twitched up for a second before he spoke again._

" _Well, you should know that such power does not reside with your Father." He leveled an intense stare at Sirius, "That power resides with me, do you understand?"_

 _Sirius gulped and nodded, thinking furiously about what house his Grandfather would want him in. He was saved from his impending panic when his Grandfather spoke again, his voice more gentle than before._

" _Sirius," He waited for the boy to meet his eyes, "I named you Heir because you have what it takes to lead this family in the right direction. Your house at Hogwarts is a reflection of your core attributes. Do not try to change who you are."_

 _Eleven-year-old Sirius Black looked at his Grandfather in a mix of awe and confusion. No one in his family had ever said that it was okay for him to be himself. They had always wanted to change him, always saying he was not acting 'like a Black'. But here was his Grandfather, the Head of the Family, telling him to be himself. It was slightly overwhelming for the young boy._

" _Th-thank you, Grandfather." He said, shaking as he stood and made his way out of the room. It was that conversation that gave him the strength to allow himself to become a Gryffindor._

Sirius shook himself out of the memory, and glanced back down at the letters in front of him. That conversation still befuddled him, but he had work to do right now.

 _Seems like everything should go smoothly with the Goblins, I was never given a trial, so by Goblin Law I can still take up Headship._ Sirius breathed a sigh of relief, he did not want a fight with the Goblins.

The last thing of interest that he found was the very thing he had been looking for; the Family Atheme and Ritual Bowl. Sirius pulled the Atheme from it's sheath and stared at the gleaming blade.

"I will protect you, Pup." He told the empty room. "Even if that means harnessing my Family Magic. I can do this. _We_ can do this."

With his promise hanging in the air Sirius penned a letter to Gringotts and packed the Ritual equipment, correspondence from his Grandfather and Vault keys into a satchel. Once that was finished Sirius noticed Harry's snowy owl sitting on the windowsill to his left.

"Hey beautiful," Sirius cooed, stroking the bird's soft feathers. She hooted softly and leaned into his touch. "Your name is Hedwig right?" His eyes widened in surprise when the owl nodded at this question. _Well that's interesting, bloody smart bird, this one._ "Could you take this to Gringotts for me, lovely?" Again the owl nodded and held out her leg to receive her burden.

A few moments later Sirius leaned on the sill and watched Harry's owl disappear into the night. With one last sigh, the old Marauder left the room he had once hated and headed for bed.

xxXxx

"Wake up, Pup!" Sirius called cheerfully from the doorway. Harry groaned and automatically started to climb out of bed and put his glasses on.

"The loo is down the hall to the right, Harry. Do try to manage that mop you call hair, eh? I've asked a Healer over to give you a check up and see about getting rid of those glasses." Sirius said as he playfully poked Harry's glasses. "He should be here sometime after breakfast."

"What's wrong with my glasses?" Harry growled with a glare. He yanked his beat up plastic glasses from his face and rubbed them on his shirt to remove Sirius' fingerprints.

"Oh nothing, nothing. But they could be a liability in a fight..." He raised an eyebrow at Harry. The teen fidgeted and looked down at the carpet guiltily. "Yeah, Pup, I kind of figured. You _are_ the son of a Marauder after all."

Harry shifted again and mumbled something under his breath. Sirius looked at him curiously for a moment before realization dawned on him. He patted Harry's shoulder fondly, chuckling.

"Hey, no need to be ashamed, Pup. I just want you to be better prepared for your adventures and mischief." He said with a wide smile and sly wink.

"Right," Harry said, still a little uncomfortable. "Well, I'll be down soon. Do-uh, do you want me to cook breakfast?" Sirius looked at him with eyes wide as saucers, shocked that the boy would even think of that.

"Merlin, no! I'll just have Kreacher do it," Sirius said in surprise. Then he looked at Harry in confusion. "Wait, you know how to cook? Did-did you have to do that a lot at your Aunt's?" He asked, his voice laced with concern. Harry looked away, his face flushing.

"N-no! Of course not-" Harry started but Sirius cut him off with a sad smile.

"Hey, it's ok Pup. We _are_ going to have to talk about it though…you know that, right?" Harry frowned but otherwise stayed quiet. Sirius looked at him curiously for a moment before clapping him on the shoulder with a smile. "You clean up, Pup. Kitchen is downstairs, follow your nose, eh?"

"Wait!" Harry called, thinking quickly. "Did you say you asked a Healer to come here? How? Your on the run!"

Sirius laughed and waggled his eyebrows at his Godson. "I have my ways, Pup. Don't you fret!" Still laughing the old Marauder made his way down the stairs and out of sight.

Harry watched his Godfather leave a frown still on his young face. He shook his head and headed for the loo, his toiletries bag under his arm.

 _Ug, this is going to be an uncomfortable conversation…_ Harry sighed and then froze as something Sirius had said struck him. _Wait, he said a_ _Healer_ _was coming…to check up on_ _me._ _No, he'll find out about… well_ _everything_ _...Will Sirius still want me when he finds out I'm…damaged?_

He winced at that thought. _He'll probably just send me back…_

Harry shook himself and continued into the bathroom. He undressed quickly and climbed into the hot water of the bath. As he lay soaking, he tried to think of ways to get out of his appointment with the Healer.

After a few minutes of thought he shook his head in defeat and sighed.

"Nah, he'd just know something's up…" He sighed again and began to wash himself, hurrying through the rest of his ablutions.

Freshly washed, dried, and dressed, Harry made his way down to the kitchen. He found Sirius glaring down at an old, wrinkly house elf, who seemed to be throwing a bit of a tantrum. He was on the floor, banging his fists and feet into the floor, all the while croaking, "won't, won't, won't," with tears streaming down his face.

"I am the Master of this house now Kreacher." Sirius growled, frustration written on his face. Harry edged into the room, closing the door quietly behind him. Sirius shot a pleading look over his shoulder before turning back to the wailing elf.

"Nasty blood traitor wants Kreacher to disobey his Mistress! But Kreacher won't! Won't! Won't! Won't!"

"Shut _up_ , Kreacher!" Immediately the elf's cries fell silent, though his mouth continued to form words and his tantrum seemed to grow more violent. Harry cocked his head, an idea forming as he watched the pathetic show.

"Uh, Sirius?" He asked tentatively.

"Hmph…sorry 'bout him, Pup." Sirius grumbled as he moved towards the old style stove in the corner. "I can try to make some oatmeal, but I haven't exactly been in front of a stove in…well in a while," he chuckled uncomfortably.

"Wait," Harry said quickly then blushed when Sirius turned and gave him a bemused look. "I mean, well, why is it that Kreacher doesn't want to…" he gestured vaguely at the thrashing elf.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair and shot Harry a sheepish look. "I guess that's kind of my fault…" he sighed deeply before shooting Harry an apologetic smile. "I always hated this house…and my Mother never wanted me to be the Head of the Family. She tried to disown me, but Grandfather Arcturus wouldn't approve it so I _am_ still Heir until I take the ring…"

Harry nodded along but frowned when Sirius' voice trailed off. "So he doesn't want to recognize you as his Master...because you had different ideals than your Mother?" He looked at Sirius in confusion and the old Marauder sighed again.

"Not exactly…he is taking orders from my Mother's old portrait…and seems to think that I will 'bring ruin to our Ancient and Noble House' or something," Sirius rolled his eyes.

Harry nodded again, eyeing the now prone form of Kreacher. The elf seemed to have exhausted himself and was now lying on his back glaring hatefully up at the ceiling. Harry glanced at Sirius again, giving him a 'give me a second, I have an idea' look, before slowly walking forward, pretending to look around the room in disgust.

"Merlin, would you look at this place? I would think the home of an Ancient and Noble House such as the Blacks would be better kept," Harry threw Sirius a significant look. Sirius' eyes widened in understanding for a moment before he shot Harry a sly smirk.

"I am most sorry, Heir Potter," he winked at Harry with a smirk, "this is most definitely unbefitting the Heirs of two Ancient and Noble Houses…" Kreacher was frowning at this point, this ears twitching as the listened to their conversation.

Harry hummed in agreement then ran his finger over the table, which was covered with dust, before 'tsk'-ing in apparent disgust. "Is the House of Black so far disgraced that it can no longer retain a house elf to properly maintain the property?" He fixed a Malfoy-esque sneer on his face as Kreacher sat bolt upright, his bulbous eyes wide with horror.

"To my everlasting shame, Heir Potter, the House of Black has but one, disgustingly disgraceful, house elf. As you can see," he gestured vaguely toward Kreacher, "it dishonors the Ancient and Noble House of Black by disobeying its Master."

Harry looked over at Kreacher, sneer still twisting his face. Kreacher was visibly shaking. He was crying again, but this time he was looking at Sirius with horror in his eyes, instead of hate. He mouthed something at Sirius, waving wildly to get his Master's attention, but Sirius ignored him in favor of offering Harry a short bow.

"I am deeply sorry, Heir Potter, to have my House disgraced in such a way and to have to discipline my servant in front of you. I hope you will forgive me for the disruption of your visit?" His voice was even, his tone one of deep shame, but Harry could see the glimmer of humor in Sirius' eyes and had to bite back the urge to roll his eyes at the Marauder's antics.

Harry made a noncommittal noise of agreement. "Will you give it clothes? I know of an eager, loyal elf, that would be deeply honored to serve an Ancient and Noble House should you need a…replacement." Harry had to hide a smile as Kreacher started to shake his head furiously, panic written across his wrinkled face.

Sirius gave the elf a long, considering glare before responding to Harry. "Perhaps that is necessary…perhaps this elf has out lasted its…usefulness, if it cannot obey the commands of its Master." Kreacher was on his knees now, shaking his head, crying and wringing his hands pathetically.

Sirius glanced at Harry, one eyebrow raised. "Could you call this other elf now, Heir Potter? I would like to see what he?" he waited for Harry's nod of confirmation, "He, could do for my House."

Harry smiled and called in a confident voice, "Dobby!"

There was a loud *Pop* and Dobby appeared, standing on top of the table to Harry's left. He was nearly vibrating with glee and immediately threw himself off of the table and hugged Harry's knees, squealing in joy the whole way.

"Harry Potter, sir, has called for Dobby!" He squeaked, "Harry Potter is a great and noble wizard, and he calls for Dobby! What can Dobby bes doing for Mister Harry Potter, sir?" He looked up at Harry; his large green eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Heir Black, could you erect a privacy bubble? I don't want to risk… _that_ ," he threw a significant look towards Kreacher, "corrupting this elf…" he trailed off, looking at Sirius expectantly.

"Of course," Sirius said, bowing his head graciously to hide a smirk. He waved his wand in a circular pattern and a shimmering blue dome formed around the three of them, excluding only Kreacher.

Harry looked back down at Dobby, who was twisting his ear nervously, a confused expression on his face. Harry smiled and crouched down in front of the excitable elf.

"Hey Dobby! Long time no see!" He said, and was happy to see some of the nervousness drain form Dobby's form. "Sorry about all that, we are trying to get Kreacher to accept Padfoot here," he gestured towards the Marauder, "as his Master, and Kreacher only seems to respect the old Pureblood ways so…" he shrugged his shoulders and let his sentence trail off uncertainly.

Dobby seemed to brighten with understanding and nodded his head rapidly, his ears flapping back and forth.

"Harry Potter, sir, bes wanting Dobby to bes good example for Mister Paddy's bad elf!" He clapped is small hands and bounced in excitement. "Dobby can bes doing that Mister Harry Potter, sir! But…" his ears drooped and his excitement seemed to bleed away.

Harry frowned and leaned forward in concern, "What is it Dobby?" The small elf looked up at Harry, concern and hope glimmering in his huge eyes.

"But Dobby bes needing a Master, Harry Potter, sir…Dobby can't bes a good example if Dobby bes working for Hoggywarts." He had tears in his eyes again and his whole frame seemed to droop in disappointment.

Harry glanced at Sirius incredulously. Sirius just raised his eyebrows and shrugged, gesturing in an 'up to you' kind of way. Harry rolled his eyes and focused back on the despondent elf in front of him.

 _Hmm…could be useful. And this way Dumbles can't have him spy on me…_ He contemplated the idea of having a personal house elf and nodded his head. _Very useful, why didn't I think of this sooner?_

"Okay, Dobby. I think the House of Potter could make use of a loyal house elf such as yourself." The look of utter joy that sprang to Dobby's face brought a genuine smile to Harry's own. "In front of Kreacher, for the time being, I will have to treat you like most Purebloods would," Harry caught the flash of fear that swept through Dobby's eyes and rushed to reassure him, "But I will _never_ abuse you like the Malfoys did, okay? I will never hit you, and I will never ask you to hurt yourself."

Dobby smiled widely, "Dobby bes very happy to bes the Potter house elf, Mister Harry Potter, sir."

"Alright Pup," Sirius said, drawing Harry's attention, "Why don't you wait to finalize the bond with Dobby. I want to have a talk with Kreacher and see if he's willing to behave before you do, keep him sweating, eh?" Sirius waved his wand to break the silencing ward, an evil smile on his face. He turned to look down at Kreacher, who was still on his knees, staring wide-eyed at his Master.

"Kreacher!" The elf stood up shakily and fixed his eyes on the ground at Sirius' feet. Sirius crossed his arms and dawned a look of superiority that would have made even Lucius Malfoy cringe.

"Are you ready to be a proper elf?" He sneered, Kreacher nodded his head rapidly, still staring at the floor. "Are you ready to prove that you're still worthy enough to serve the Ancient and Noble House of Black? Or do I need to give you clothes?" Sirius asked. Kreacher stiffened and shook his wrinkly head, his ears flopping back and forth.

"Kreacher not wanting clothes! Kreacher will prove his worth and serve the House of Black." He croaked, panic heavy in his voice. Harry glanced at Sirius, noting the genuine disgust that marred his features as he gazed at the old elf.

"Good." Padfoot said after a minute, "Now, Mister Potter is about to bond to his new elf Dobby, once that is done Dobby will re-train you and watch over you, until you are competent enough in serving the House of Black. If he tells either of us about you trying to disobey or twist my orders to suit yourself I _will_ give you clothes, is that understood?"

Kreacher nodded again, shooting Dobby a speculative glare. Dobby stood proudly beside Harry and, Harry noticed, seemed to puff his chest out even more under Kreacher's gaze. Harry clapped his hands together once, drawing everyone's attention, "Okay, lets get this show on the road, Dobby," he glanced down at the elf in question, "how exactly do we do this…binding thing." He waved his hand vaguely.

"Dobby bes swearing his loyalty and service to the House of Potter and Mister Harry Potter, sir, bes accepting," He beamed up at Harry excitedly. He drew himself up and placed his small hand on Harry's leg, "Dobby bes promising to bes loyal to the Ancient and Noble House of Potter and bes promising to serve Mister Harry Potter faithfully and wholeheartedly, until either Dobby bes dead or his Master sees fit to break the Bond of Service by giving Dobby clothes. So mote it bes."

Magic swirled around the room; thick and shimmering it centered around Harry and Dobby. Harry noticed Sirius and Kreacher both looking on with wide eyes, but he focused his attention back on the elf at his side. He reached down and placed his right hand on Dobby's head, the magic picked up; swirling so fast it ruffled Harry's hair.

"I, Harry James Potter, Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, and last of the Potter line, accept your loyalty and this Bond of Service." The ritualistic words seem to flow from him of their own accord, called forth by the magic in the air. "I promise to treat this house elf, Dobby, with respect and honor his service by allowing him access to the Potter family magic. So I swear, so mote it be."

Dobby's eyes were impossibly wide by the time Harry finished his Vow and as the magic in the room sealed their Bond he threw himself forward and grabbed Harry's knees into another tight hug.

"Thank you Master Harry Potter, sir!" he squeaked excitedly, wiping tears from his eyes with a sock he had pulled from the smock he was wearing. "Dobby is being honored to serve the great and noble Harry Potter, sir!"

Harry shook his head in fond exasperation, "Dobby you can call me Harry, Okay? Just Harry?" He gave the elf an almost pleading look.

"Okay, Master Harry, sir!" Dobby nodded his head, sending his ears flapping wildly, Harry sighed and shook his head again, that was the best he was going to get it seemed.

"Well for your first task as a Potter elf, could you help Kreacher with our breakfast? I think he will be more willing to follow his orders now…" he looked over at the Black elf with an eyebrow raised. Kreacher glanced up at Sirius before nodding once and popping away, Sirius just grinned triumphantly at his departure.

"Dobby can bes doing that, Master Harry, sir!" and he too popped away.

Sirius walked over and clapped Harry on the shoulder, grinning like a loon. Harry smiled up at his godfather and soaked up his affectionate touch, relishing in the feeling of love radiating off of Sirius in waves.

"That was brilliant, Pup!" Sirius beamed, "And very Slytherin of you, I must say." He waggled his eyebrows with a wink. Harry smiled back but shifted nervously at the comparison. Padfoot pulled him over toward the dining table where a tea service had appeared, his arm draped over Harry's shoulders.

 _Oh bloody hell, Sirius hates Slytherin…bugger, way to go Potter. Way to bugger everything up…_ Harry thought furiously.

"Yeah," Harry chuckled nervously, "Slytherin…you uh, you aren't…upset about that, are you?" He looked up at Sirius with wide eyes, hoping desperately that he hadn't messed everything up.

Sirius stopped short and turned to look down at his Godson in surprise. "Upset? Merlin, no!" Harry noticed a determined glint enter Sirius' expressive grey eyes. "Harry, Pup, having cunning or ambition is not a bad thing. It's all in how those traits are put to use, eh? What you did with Kreacher, not only helped me, but also gave that elf something to live for. Something he hasn't had since my _darling_ Mother died."

Harry gave an uncertain smile and plopped himself into one of the six dinning room chairs. He was vastly relived that Sirius didn't seem to be quite as prejudiced as some _other_ Gryffindors he could think of, cough, Ron, cough, Weasley, cough. Harry frowned at the thought of this 'best friend'. He had just as many suspicions about the Weasley family as he did about Dumbledore.

 _Really, the only person at Hogwarts I_ _don't_ _have any suspicions about is Hermione…_ Harry mused, slightly disturbed by that fact. _Even the teachers, I don't trust a single one of them…_

While Harry silently brooded, Sirius had settled himself in a chair opposite Harry's. Just as he sat down, plates, glasses and cutlery appeared on the table in front of each of them. Harry blinked, pulled out of his introspection by food appearing under his nose.

"Well that was fast," he muttered, with a grin he started dishing scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast onto his plate.

"That's house-elf magic for you," Sirius chuckled as he too loaded his plate. The pair chatted animatedly about inconsequential subjects while they ate, just enjoying each other's company. Once the food was eaten and the dirty plates had disappeared to be cleaned Sirius settled back into his chair and pulled out an old beat up looking pocket watch.

"Okay, Pup. The Healer should be here in about an hour, so in the mean time," he gave Harry a piercing look, "we need to talk about our individual suspicions surrounding Dumbles. They will probably match, but I'm bound to know things you don't, and vice versa, eh?" He raised an eyebrow at Harry, to which the teen nodded a grim look on his face.

"Okay, why don't you go first? That way we get more of a linear view of things?" Harry suggested.

"Alright, Merlin where to start?" Sirius paused; a thoughtful look on his face, then snapped his fingers. "Ah! When I started school. That's when I first met the man, logical, eh?" He waggled his eyebrows at Harry and winked, a smirk gracing his face.

Harry rolled his eyes at his Godfather's antics but smiled and nodded for him to go on.

"Okay, well he has always had that…twinkley, grandfather-ish persona, I guess you could call it." Sirius looked disgusted for a second before continuing. "I guess, looking back the first red flag should have been Remus. Don't get me wrong, Remus was a great friend, and I don't care one wit about his 'furry little problem' but when I think about it now…" he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It just seems like a blatant manipulation."

Harry frowned in thought, "How so?"

"Remus was, and still is, the only Werewolf to ever attend Hogwarts. Isn't it odd that his school career was such a success, not one person ever injured, hell no one but us and Snape ever even found out! And yet, despite that no other Werewolf was given the chance to attend?"

Harry's eyes widened as he cottoned on to Sirius' point. "Oh, you think he is using the fact that he allowed Professor Lupin to attend to…I dunno, sway his loyalty?"

"Yes, and that right there compounds my point, Pup. He gave Remus a job. Teaching no less. Werewolves are ridiculously discriminated against here in Britain. No wonder Remus never questions Dumbledore's 'suggestions'." Sirius shook his head in exasperation.

"What do you mean? What suggestions?" Harry asked, confused by the emphasis his Godfather had put on the word.

"I spoke to Remus before coming to get you. Asked him why he never checked on you, or just tried to see you, James was our best friend after all, and you were like a nephew to both of us. Anyway, all Remus would say was that Dumbledore told him that you were fine and to stay away, another reason I don't trust the old coot," Sirius grumbled, "and then Moony looked at me like I was crazy for even thinking about questioning Dumbledore!"

Harry shifted nervously and gave a muted sigh. "Look, Sirius, I know he is you friend and all, but I don't think I can trust Profes-Lupin." Harry corrected himself, "He just seems far too loyal to Dumbledore,"

"I agree, Pup." Sirius said, with a heavy sigh. Again he ran his hand through his hair, and then seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts. "Okay, in light of that, I am also starting to think that Dumbledore knew about our, I mean the Marauder's, late night excursions around the full moon. Come to think of it I would almost say he encouraged us…" Sirius trailed off, his brow furrowed.

"You don't think…" Harry started nervously, but trailed off. He had a nagging suspicion but was almost afraid of what Sirius' reaction would be.

"What, Pup?" Sirius looked at him curiously, his face inviting. "I want to hear your opinion on this, two heads are better than one, eh?" Harry couldn't help but grin back at his Godfather's lopsided smile. He took a deep breath and ploughed ahead with his thought.

"You don't think that was his plan all along, do you?" At Sirius' confused expression, Harry elaborated, more growing confident in his reasoning as he spoke. "To introduce Lupin, both as a way to get you and my dad, two sons of wealthy and influential families from what I'm gathering, to see him of some paragon of Light that would allow even a 'poor Werewolf boy' a place at his school. And as one of your peers that was, and still his, fiercely loyal to him?" Harry paused to let that sink in before continuing his thought.

"So loyal that he wouldn't think twice about answering any question Dumbledore asked about you or your group? An inside man to plant ideas that Dumbledore approved of…?" Harry let his question hang. Sirius looked gobsmacked, his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide, as he seemed to absorb the implications of Harry's theory.

"I-I, that makes so much sense…" Sirius whispered, seemingly caught in memories. Harry's face twisted into a concerned grimace, he hadn't meant to tear Sirius' childhood to bits.

"Padfoot, hey-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" He stammered.

"Hey! None of that! It's not your fault, and I would rather know now so that I'm not burned later, eh?" Sirius flashed a sad smile and shook his head then glanced up at Harry with a calculating glint in his eyes. "Don't take this the wrong way, Pup. But from what Remus and Dumbles was telling me…well that was just some advanced thinking on your part, if you know what I mean…" His voice trailed off in embarrassment.

Harry sighed and leaned back in his chair, also slightly embarrassed by Sirius' allusions. _Bloody hell, well if I can't trust him with this why am I even here?_ Harry thought, steeling himself to reveal one of his many secrets. He allowed the front legs of the chair to drop back onto the floor before meeting Sirius' eyes with a small, embarrassed smile.

"I have an eidetic memory." Harry blurted, "I throw my grades because…well honestly there are a lot of reasons _now_ , but the reason I started?" He shook his head and shrugged a bit. "The Dursleys didn't like it if I got better grades than Dudley. I learned pretty quickly to learn all I could but never do well on assignments. My first year of Hogwarts that just kind followed me and by the time I figured out that the Dursleys didn't care about my grades anymore…well I had Hermione and Ron as friends."

Harry noticed Sirius' confusion and gave a wane smile before elaborating.

"Hermione is very proud of being the best, I was afraid she would be mad if I outstripped her. And Ron, well Ron gets jealous _very_ easily." Harry shook his head, "But again I could have gotten over that and would have around the middle of second year…but then I had a brain wave." Harry paused and took a sip of tea.

Sirius took advantage of Harry's pause to quietly say, "I don't know much about Ron, Harry, but your friend Hermione? I think she is very loyal to you, she wouldn't begrudge you a few grades…"

Harry smiled a genuine smile at his Godfather. "I know, now. But like I said, I had a brain wave. I realized that I didn't trust a single teacher in that school. Not one. And especially not Dumbles. So why shouldn't I hide my true abilities. I was still learning. Hell I am probably already way past my year mates because of all my night trips to the library." Harry chuckled, then his expression darkened into confusion.

"I just have so much trouble regulating my power." He sighed in frustration. Sirius cocked his head and looked at Harry incredulously.

"Power? Pup, not you too! I know what I saw! You drove off over a hundred Dementors with ONE Patronus!" Sirius almost yelled, banging his fist on the table. Harry looked at him in shock for a second before understanding lit his face.

"That's what I mean! I can do that one minute, but the next I'm struggling to _Accio_ something!" He paused then looked at his Godfather suspiciously, "Wait, what did you mean not me too?"

Sirius had a thoughtful look on his face and seemed to contemplate something before answering, "I was talking to Remus about what happened by the lake. You know, you driving off over a hundred Dementors single handedly? Anyway, he didn't believe me. He said it was my imagination because you were so average in class…I wonder…" His voice trailed off and his brow furrowed.

"That's what I mean, Sirius." Harry looked down at his empty teacup, hiding his face in shame. "I just can't seem to draw any power unless I'm terrified…or angry." He added as an after thought.

"Well, I think it would be a good idea to ask the Healer about this when he gets here in…" he cast a quick _Tempest_ , "twenty minutes. So lets get back to Dumbles."

Kreacher popped in, refilled both of their cups and popped back out. Harry leaned back in his chair as Sirius told him about the Marauders' war with Slytherin, and particularly Snape, and how McGonagall seemed to take their side more often than not. Even when Sirius almost got Snape killed.

"Looking back, Pup, what we were doing was bullying. And McGonagall just let it happen. Snape was a right git, but…" Sirius sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Harry was lost in thought.

"Dumbledore doesn't seem all that interested in ending the Gryffindor, Slytherin rivalry…honestly he is so obtuse about it…its like he wants the school fighting with itself…"

"So things haven't changed, eh?" Sirius asked. Harry shook his head.

"Worse, I'm afraid…Snape is Head of Slytherin and does nothing to restrain his Snakes. Hell he bullies students himself! And McGonagall is…unreachable. She dismisses students' concerns out of hand, her office door is always closed, too much paperwork I suppose. And we never see her in Gryffindor unless there is an emergency." Harry paused for a sip of tea.

"What about the other teachers?" Sirius asked, growing concerned.

"Truthfully?" Harry asked, rubbing his temples. "No. I don't trust a single teacher in that school. My first year most of them helped lay traps around the Sorcerer's stone. They _knew_ that Dumbledore was using a school full of children as a trap for Voldemort, and they did nothing." Harry banged his fist on the table.

"Second year, there was a bloody Basilisk in the school and not one of them thought to go to the board about closing the school. Not one of the 'best professors in Britain'" the sarcastic air quotes were audible, "Could figure it out, but a second year Muggleborn did? And lets not mention the fact that the whole school was bullying me over the Heir of Slytherin thing. I'm a Parslemouth, so what? I was born this way, its not like I can choose not to be! But not one teacher said a thing. Not one." Harry was breathing hard by this point but Sirius was too enthralled in Harry's tale to stop him.

"And last year, I know _now_ that you weren't after me, but then? All I knew was that some nutter wanted to kill me. And HE GOT INTO MY BLOODY ROOM!" Harry yelled, causing Sirius to flinch back. "Remus knew you were an animagus, but never said a damn word! And I would bet money that Dumblefuck did too!" Sirius had to bite back a chuckle at Harry's name for the Headmaster. "Oh and every single year I end up in the Hospital Wing. Pomfrey has cast every scanning charm in the book on me, but she never noticed how under weight I was? She never noticed the scars? Bullshit. So no, I don't trust a single person in that school," Harry paused and seemed to think about something for a moment before adding quietly, "Except Hermione."

"Okay, Pup. I get it," Sirius said soothingly, "It wasn't that bad when I was in school, but honestly I don't think Dumbledore had as much power back then. It sounds like he is influencing the teachers heavily." Harry nodded at this and rolled his eyes.

"I don't know what his deal is with Snape, but it puts me on edge, now I hear that my dad and his friends used to bully him…and Dumbledore just lets him do the same to me? Sirius, there has to be more to Snape than I know, Dumbledore lets him get away with too much." Harry looked at his Godfather curiously. Sirius had a grim expression on his face and it did nothing to ease Harry's suspicions.

"Snape and Lily were friends in school." Sirius said abruptly, catching Harry of guard. "They grew up in the same neighborhood, from what Lily said, Snape was the one that told her she was a witch. Their friendship made them targets in Hogwarts. You know, a Slytherin and Gryffindor seen together? No one was happy." Sirius sighed and ran his hands over his face.

"What does that have to do with-" Harry began but Sirius cut him off by raising his hand.

"In fifth year they…had a falling out. You dad and I were…having a go at Snape. Lily stepped in, but I suppose her doing so was one blow too many for his ego. He called her a Mudblood. Told her that he didn't need help from some like her." Sirius shook his head, a look of disgust on his face. "Lily refused to forgive him, she started hanging out with us more after that. I guess Snape fell in with the wrong crowd after Lily dumped him, he took the Dark Mark right out of school…Your mom was gutted when she heard that. She blamed herself."

"Snape…is a Death Eater?" Harry asked, shock overriding his anger for the moment.

"Was." Sirius said sarcastically, "According to Dumbles at least. Apparently he switched sides for some unknown reason and became a spy. And now he has Albus' 'complete trust and confidence', whatever that means."

"I don't believe that." Harry said quickly.

"Nor do I, Pup." Sirius said with a smirk.

Harry sighed and slumped back in his chair. "Okay, so just another point against Dumbles."

"There is so much more, Pup." He sighed, then looked up and caught Harry's eye. "He is the one that cast the Fidelius Charm for your parents, Harry. He _knew_ Peter was the Secret Keeper, not me."

Harry felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Bile was rising in his throat and he couldn't seem to draw breath. _He knew. He sent Sirius to Azkaban…and he knew. That-that-_

" _Bastard_!" It came out as a strangled gasp, but the emotions behind it were clear. Sirius was watching with wide eyes as Harry's aura became visible, his magic whipping around the room; rattling dishes and shaking the furniture. Harry could feel his magic swarming across his skin and, for the first time, felt his connection to his magical core. It felt like a warm glow, a whirlwind, a tidal wave, a steady heartbeat, everything all at once.

He closed his eyes and pushed his anger to the back of his mind so that he could concentrate on his magic. He traced it out from his core, mapping the pathways through his body, and noted where it could be released into the world. From there he reached outside himself and felt the magic saturating the room, his magic, house-elf magic, Sirius' magic and the ancient ambient magic of the house. He held the feeling for a few moments before slowly settling into himself again.

"Whoa…" Harry breathed as he opened his eyes and stared across the table at a shaken looking Sirius. "That was-"

"Intense?" Sirius provided, "Scary? Awesome? Overwhelming? All of the above?" The old Marauder chuckled nervously and relaxed slightly since Harry's magic had abated for the most part.

"Yea?" Harry said, an embraced flush creeping up his face. "But what was it? I felt-"

"You felt your consciousness connecting with your magic, young man." A strange voice broke in. Harry and Sirius both whipped around at the intrusion, wands raised.


	3. Chapter 3 Greetings, Lord Black

**A/N: Hey, everyone! Thanks again for the great support, and don't forget to leave a review if you like it! I love constructive criticism! Anyway, this chapter is about the same length as the last one. I hope to keep them about his length, maybe a bit longer. I hope you like it!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I wish I did! Thanks to J.K.R. for such fun characters to play with!**

A middle-aged wizard was standing in the doorway, eyeing their wands wearily. His hands were in front of him, palms out and empty, showing he was not a threat. He had short sandy hair, greying around the temples, and intelligent blue eyes. His face was sharp, but a smile played around the edges of his eyes and mouth, softening the look a bit. He stepped forward slowly, his light green robes flowing smoothly with his body.

"Karten?" Sirius asked, lowering his wand slightly, but keeping it out, just in case. Harry also lowered his wand; the Healer seemed to relax slightly once the two wands weren't pointed his way anymore.

"Right you are, _Lord Black_ ," The man, Karten, said with a slightly mocking bow, "I'm sorry I startled you, but when I flooed through I felt a wave of magic from down here and couldn't help but investigate…" His voice trailed off but he looked at Harry intensely, curiosity and wonder playing in his eyes.

Sirius waved the Healer over to the table. "I'm not _Lord Black_ , yet, Jasper." He glanced at Harry and smiled widely. "Where are my manners? Harry this is Healer Jasper Karten. We were friends at school; he was in Ravenclaw. Dead useful having someone with access to the Ravenclaw Library, I'm telling you."

Harry cocked his head at his Godfather, one eyebrow raised in question.

Sirius looked at Harry with a mock serious expression and elaborated; "Make friends with a Raven, Pup, if you can manage it." He winked at the bemused teen. "Jasper, his is my Godson, Harry Potter."

Healer Karten held out his hand for Harry to shake. "A pleasure, Mr. Potter."

"Likewise," Harry said shaking the man's surprisingly soft hand. "You felt my magic from upstairs?" Karten gave Harry the intense look again and cocked his head to the side slightly.

"Yes, Mr. Potter. I must say that was the most intense _Connecting_ I have ever witnessed, and in one so young…" He shook his head, a slightly awed look on his face. Harry frowned and glanced at Sirius, who looked just as confused as Harry felt.

"I'm sorry, Healer Karten, but could you explain that, please? What do you mean _Connecting_?" Harry asked cautiously. The Healer just smiled and nodded his head as if Harry's question confirmed something for him.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Potter. I promise I will explain everything to you in due time." He raised hand when Harry opened his mouth to interrupt. "But right now, I am here to give you a full check up and see about doing something for you eyes. Am I correct?" He looked back and forth between Harry and Sirius expectantly.

Sirius had a wide smile on his face and waggled his eyebrows at Harry's confused and frustrated expression. "It's okay, Pup. Let Jasper here do his job. If what happened was anything bad I'm sure he would already be running scans on you." He said with a laugh. Harry relaxed slightly at that, but was still a little uncomfortable with the situation.

"Right again, Sirius. Wow, right twice in one day, miracles really _do_ happen," Healer Karten said with a smirk before turning back to Harry. He smiled kindly at the teen's unease and patted him on the hand reassuringly. "I promise, Harry, it's nothing bad, I just need to run a few more tests on you before I can be certain of what happened."

Harry relaxed back in his chair and gave a small nod. "Okay, where do we start then?"

"Well, first things first. Is Sirius going to stay in the room for the check up?" Karten asked, glancing over at the man in question with a raised eyebrow. Sirius was looking at Harry with a pleading glint in his eyes, one that Harry had a hard time ignoring.

 _He's going to find out sooner or later, might as well be from the source I suppose…_ Harry mused as he looked at his Godfather, _He actually looks concerned, maybe I really can trust him…_ With renewed determination Harry gave a sharp nod, causing Sirius to beam happily.

"Okay then. Now I think we should find a better place to do this than the kitchen, perhaps a sitting room, or bedroom?" Again Karten looked over to Sirius, amusement shining in his eyes.

"Right!" Sirius yelped, his eyes widening and an embarrassed flush creeping up his cheeks. "The, uh, the main sitting room would probably be best, heh. Right, this way then." He mumbled with a weak laugh before leading the small group up the stairs and to the right of the entryway into a large ornate room.

There were three sofas in a semi-circle around a huge fireplace and bookshelves lining the walls. A low, squat coffee table sat in the center of the ring of sofas, a vase of wilted flowers in the center.

"Okay Mr. Potter, I need you to change into this," Karten held up a thin medical gown. Mortified, Harry stared at the flimsy garment for a few seconds before glancing around the room nervously.

After a moment Karten seemed to understand the boy's problem and cleared his throat suddenly. "Right, well, Sirius why don't you tell me about this…tapestry?" He shot the confused Marauder a pointed look and the two turned their backs to the rest of the room while Sirius, who finally caught on, launched into an animated explanation of the Black Family History.

Sagging in relief, Harry grabbed the gown from where Healer Karten had laid it and moved off to a corner to change in relative privacy.

 _Hmmm…the Blacks are related to the Malfoys huh?_ Harry mused to himself, half-listening to Sirius' voice as he changed as quickly as possible.

A few embarrassing moments later Harry cleared his throat to gain the attention of the other two men in the room as he took a seat on the sofa directly across from the fireplace.

Healer Karten walked over and knelt in front of Harry, his wand in his right hand. Sirius followed and took a seat on the sofa to his right. The old dog settled into the cushions and was looking on in interest.

"Okay, Mr. Potter, I'm going to cast a few simple diagnostic charms. One is going to tell me any illnesses you have contracted in the past or any that are still effecting you," He paused to make sure Harry understood then, upon Harry's nod, continued, "The other will tell me any injuries you have sustained, what age you sustained them and any you are currently suffering from. Any questions?"

"Yeah, uh, why do you need to know about _past_ injuries?" Harry asked hesitantly, casting a glance over at Sirius. His Godfather just watched him with an open, supportive expression. Harry was just worried what Sirius would do to the Dursleys if this scan was _too_ thorough.

"Two reasons, really. First; as your personal Healer I need to know your medical history, just in case any future treatments may interfere with past ones. And secondly; this will tell me if any past injuries healed incorrectly and need repairing." Karten explained, his voice calm and self-assured. Harry let the Healer's confidence sooth his nerves and relaxed back into the sofa with a small nod.

 _Alright, better get this over with…_ Harry thought, forcing himself to relax further.

"Okay, go ahead then." He said closing his eyes. He felt Karten wave his wand over him a few times and heard him mutter something in Latin before tapping him gently on the top of his head with his wand. A feeling of warmth seemed to spread from the point were Karten's wand had connected and down over the rest of his body.

Harry opened his eyes and saw a scroll of parchment hovering a few inches off to his left, a quill scratching quickly over it. Karten raised his wand again and cast another spell over Harry, this time causing a cool sensation to flow over his skin. Another parchment popped into existence beside the first and another quill began writing.

"Alright, those will take a few moments to complete. While we wait, why don't we talk about your eyes and possible treatments for them?" Karten suggested. He perched himself on the edge of the small coffee table, facing Harry.

"Okay," Harry replied, casting another glance over to Sirius. His Godfather was focused on the two growing sheets of parchment, a look of concern on his face. After a couple of seconds, as if sensing Harry's gaze, Sirius met his Godson's eyes.

"Yeah, Pup, I think getting rid of those glasses would be for the best, if its possible." Sirius said, giving Harry an encouraging smile. Harry smiled back and nodded slightly, silently thankful that Sirius was there.

"Okay, well the good news is that I know of a way to fix the problem." Karten started as he took a seat on the last open sofa. He turned his body so that he could face both Sirius and Harry at the same time. "The bad news, however, is that the only way I know to fix it is an illegal potion."

Harry's eyebrows rose in surprise and he darted his eyes over to Sirius. Sirius' expression gave nothing away as he gazed steadily back at his Godson.

"Sirius?" Harry asked, wanting his Godfather's opinion.

"Up to you, Pup." Sirius said with a shrug, his expression still infuriatingly neutral.

Harry glanced at Karten but the man just seemed to be waiting patently for a response, busing himself with the two sheets of parchment still floating in the air.

 _Huh, illegal. Sirius doesn't seem surprised to hear that…_ Harry studied his Godfather's expression and noticed an amused glint in the older man's eyes. _I wonder why it's illegal anyway…_

Harry turned away from his unhelpful Godfather and addressed his Healer, "Can you tell me _why_ it's illegal, Healer Karten? And, since it _is_ illegal, why even bother bringing it up?"

A smile stretched across the Healer's face and Harry caught a twinkle of amusement in his eyes at the question. He turned away from the hovering parchments, which were still being written upon by increasingly frantic quills, and shot Sirius a raised eyebrow.

"Well, well, Siri. Your Godson sure does catch on quick," He said, the sarcasm evident in his voice tempered by his obvious amusement.

"I told you Jasper, he is his mother's son." Sirius replied with a smug look on his face.

Harry frowned at the two and crossed his arms, allowing his impatience to show. He didn't appreciate being spoken about like he wasn't there. Karten seemed to notice his mounting irritation, though, because he turned to look a Harry with a rather serious expression.

"It's illegal because it utilizes some ingredients that are rather…frowned upon by the current Ministry." Harry leaned forward in interest and motioned for Karten to continue. "It calls for Unicorn tears and Phoenix blood. They have to be freely given of course, but the _Powers that Be_ have determined that anything calling for those ingredients must be Dark."

Harry smirked at the sarcasm dripping form his Healer's voice, but it was quickly replaced by a frown as he thought. _Unicorn_ _ **tears**_ _? And Phoenix_ _ **blood**_ _? Wait, he must have it backwards…_

"Uh, Healer?" Harry began nervously, at Karten's smile he continued. "I've heard of using _Phoenix_ tears and _Unicorn_ blood for healing…is that what you meant?"

"Oh, no." Karten replied, his smile still in place. "You are correct that Unicorn blood and Phoenix tears have healing properties, but here's the thing; any offering from either of those creatures can be utilized in healing. I understand you have only completed your third year at Hogwarts, but surely your potion's instructor taught you that certain substances react in certain ways with others?"

Harry just sat still and looked on with a blank expression. He had read ahead, sure, but because of Snape's combativeness, Harry had never tried to delve into potions too much. He read the recopies out of their course text, but he never felt the need to look up outside material on the subject. Now he felt quite foolish for overlooking such an important art. Karten seemed upset by Harry's confusion.

"This is basic potion's theory!" He cried, throwing his hands up. "Your telling me that your instructor never went over this is class?" Harry shook his head in the negative; this seemed to enrage Karten more. "Who's your teacher? What's the name of this fool so I may lodge a complaint!"

"It won't do you much good," Harry shrugged, "Dumbledore will just protect him, as usual. But his name is Severus Snape." Harry noticed Sirius' face twist into a look of disgust at the mention of Snape and Karten seemed to wilt.

"Shite. You're right, Dumbledore seems oddly protective of his pet Death Eater…" Karten's voice trailed off when he noticed both Harry and Sirius stiffen.

"So, everyone knows what Snape is, and yet they still let him teach children?" Harry asked in a cold voice.

"Oh, yes. Because Dumbledore believes Snivellus is _sorry_." Sirius said, disgust dripping from his tone.

"We can discuss politics another time." The Healer snapped, a look of annoyance flashing across his face. Sirius had enough good grace to look ashamed of his outburst and subsided while Karten turned back to Harry. "Mr. Potter, now that you know the basics of the potion and why it's illegal, are you still interested in it?"

Harry looked away while he thought about it. He realized that his glasses _were_ quitebothersome and getting rid of them would make his life easier. He looked back at the healer and said, "I'll do it. Make the potion."

"Excellent," Karten replied with a smile, "Oh I almost forgot, there _is_ a small chance that you could experience an…odd…side effect with the potion. You should be aware of it, just in case, you understand."

"Side effect? How bad is it?" Harry asked. He wondered why Karten hadn't mentioned it before and hoped it was nothing too horrid.

"Well… I say side effect, but in all honesty it is more like an allergic reaction. I neglected to bring it up, quite simply because only about one in one hundred patients have the allergy." He shrugged, then looked at Harry with a strange gleam in his eyes. "But those that _do_ experience the reaction develop what is known as _Mage Sight_ along with the intended restoration of vision." As Karten said this Sirius' eyes went wide and his mouth fell open but Harry looked at him with a blank expression.

" _Mage Sight_? Are you serious?" Sirius asked incredulously as he tried to regain his composure. Harry frowned when his Godfather didn't make some awful pun about his name, this must indeed be serious.

"I'm quite serious. But as I said it is extremely rare and while some call it a gift others may call it a curse." Karten said darkly.

"What's _Mage Sight_?" Harry asked, confused.

" _Mage Sight_ is the ability to literally see magic." Sirius supplied, awe still evident in his tone. "Rowena Ravenclaw was probably one of the most influential people known to have this ability. But there were rumors that she was _born_ with the gift."

"So…this _gift_ , is a good thing then?" Harry asked slowly, looking between the two wizards.

"Pup, if this potion gives you _Mage Sight_ you'd be able to see a witch or wizard's magical aura. Instead of just seeing a flash of light from a cast spell, you'd be able to see the entire spell, all the way from the caster's magical core, through the wand, to the target."

"He is correct, Mr. Potter." Karten agreed, nodding slowly. "But few who are know to have had this talent actually thrived with it. In most known cases, the patient went insane. In magical communities the ambient magic can be blinding, and most witches and wizards just can't handle it."

"Oh," Harry mumbled. He furrowed his brow in thought, contemplating the pros and cons of the situation.

 _Pros; no glasses. That would be convenient, and Sirius is right, they are a liability in a fight. Mage Sight could be a pro…if I have the allergic reaction…and I don't go bloody insane._ Harry mentally chuckled at his own dark humor, _and there's the big con. Well other than the fact that it's illegal, but hey, like they say, it's only illegal if you get caught…_

Harry pondered a few more moments before looking up at Healer Karten and giving a determined nod. "I'll do it, there is only a small chance I would have the allergy anyway, yeah? And what's life with out a little risk?" He flashed his Godfather a lopsided grin, causing him to give a loud bark of laughter.

"Just like James! I really should discourage you, but…I would do the same, Pup." Sirius leaned back into his sofa and continued to chuckle as Harry turned back to the Healer.

"Right then," Karten said as he looked at Harry. "I didn't know if you would want to go through with the potion or not so I don't have the ingredients handy. I can come back in a week with the potion ready to go." Harry nodded his consent to that plan and Karten took a deep breath before continuing. "Okay, I think its time to talk about the other reason I'm here." He said darkly.

Harry tensed for a second but forced himself to look relaxed. With a wave of Karten's wand the two sheets of parchment from his scans flew into the healer's hands. He looked at them silently, studying them. His expression darkened as he worked his way through the parchment and every now and again he would wince.

"Mister Potter," Karten said after letting out a long sigh.

"Call me Harry." Harry interrupted, then grimaced at his own rudeness. "Sorry, it's just…if we are going to talk about this…I'd rather you call me Harry."

Healer Karten gave a nod of acknowledgement and started again.

"Harry, the first scan I did shows any illnesses you have had or are still suffering from. It shows that you have been malnourished since you were about two. Which led to more cases of common ailments such as the flu. It seems that those illnesses were taken care of pretty quickly by your own magic…but this shows that the malnourishment continues to this day. The only spikes in your nutrient intakes are from September through June."

Harry tried his best to shrug off what the Healer was saying, but his eyes were darting back and forth between Karten and Sirius. His godfather was gripping the arms of the sofa so hard his knuckles were white and his mouth was clamped tight as he ground his teeth. Sirius' eyes had a hateful sheen to them and he sat straight as a board.

"Karten?" Sirius asked, "You're sure the charms you cast on Harry are accurate?" He ground out slowly; his voice was low and cold.

"Yes." The Healer answered grimly, his eyes still on Harry. "They're basic diagnostic charms. One of the first things I learned as a Healer. Sadly there's no mistake here, even without the charm telling me so it's quite obvious that Harry hasn't been fed properly." Sirius grabbed the arms of the sofa even tighter and the strain on the leather was clearly heard by all in the room.

Harry's shoulders slumped in defeat and he resigned himself to the fact that Sirius was going to learn the truth of things.

"Sirius, perhaps I should give you a calming draught before we continue?" Karten asked diplomatically. The escapee thought about it for several long moments before he shook his head.

"No, I need to hear this without a calming potion. I-I'm sorry Harry. I never should have gone after Pettigrew." Sirius said as his rage turned to sorrow.

"You made it up to me by getting me away from them, thank you for that." Harry said with a sad smile.

"You two can have your touchy-feely moment when I'm gone." Karten huffed, trying to lighten the mood a little. "I still have another parchment to explain."

Sirius rolled his eyes at this friend's antics but did seem to relax a little.

"The spell that recorded all of your previous injuries tells quite the tale, Harry. Typically, an almost fourteen-year-old boy has broken _a_ bone, maybe two, and has, of course, had minor cuts and scratches. But _this_ ," Karten shook his head and closed his eyes briefly, as if in pain. Harry let out a sigh and looked over at this Godfather. Sirius was clawing at the edges of his seat again, all traces of laughter long gone.

"It seems Harry has broken both arms, his left didn't seem set properly. And it looks as though his right was vanished and regrown for some reason." Karten frowned over the parchment at Harry but the teen just shrugged.

After a moment the Healer continued, "The improperly set brake can be fixed with magic but it _will_ be rather painful. Also, his bones are more brittle than the average teenage boy, due to the malnutrition. The scan shows minor burns and a few small scrapes but what concern me the most are the lacerations and abrasions on his back. They started showing up when he was about five years old, according to this, and aside from his time at Hogwarts they seem to be inflicted every two to five days."

Sirius stood up and darkly mumbled something about earning his twelve years in Azkaban before Karten bolted up and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Sirius, torturing and killing Harry's relatives won't make the abuse go away. He needs you to be here for him. Sit back down. Harry seems quite calm about this but he needs support. He needs you, Sirius." Karten calmly explained. Sirius stared into his eyes for a moment before turning around and plopping down on the sofa.

"Harry, are you alright?" Karten asked.

"I'm fine," Harry sighed and received a look of pure skepticism from both men, "Really, I mean I know that I was abused. I've come to terms with it and I can live with it. It'll be cake, now that I've be sprung." He shot a lopsided grin at Padfoot but his joke seemed to fall flat.

"Why didn't you tell anyone? This could get Mister and Missus Dursley life in prison!" Karten cried, appalled that someone could abuse a child for so long without being caught.

"I did." Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "When I was in primary school I told one of my teachers. It was after one of the worse thrashings. One of the first with the belt. I was desperate to get away so I told her everything. She called me a liar. Said that what I was saying was impossible." He gave a humorless chuckle. "She said that the Dursley's are a _respectable_ family that would never harm a child. I learned quickly that I just had to grin and bear it." Harry said with no inflection in his voice. He wasn't sad or angry, he was just telling Karten and Sirius how it was.

"How-how the bloody hell can you be so calm about this?" Sirius asked with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"I dunno, I mean it's just the way it is. I can spend the rest of my life bitter about it or I can move on now that I'm not going back there again. I'm not going back there right?" Harry asked, his confidence shaking slightly with the question.

"I'll die before you ever have to spend one bloody moment with those bastards again. Oh the things I want to do to them… show them what it's like to be abused." Sirius spat. His death grip on the sofa was the only thing stopping him from appariting to number four Private Drive and painfully murdering everyone there.

"Well, I think I will have to go back for at least a few hours at the beginning of every summer…" Harry said slowly, gauging his Godfather's reaction. When Sirius looked like he was about start shouting again Harry hurried to explain his assertion. "Padfoot, you know what Dumbledore would do if he found out that I'm not at Private Drive. It's better if I put up with the Dursleys for a little bit, every once in a while, to keep up appearances."

Harry watched Sirius struggled internally for a moment before the man slumped back and nodded sadly. "I know, Pup. But…I just don't want you to hate me for-for just letting-" He choked on his words before dropping his head into his hands. Shocked by such a strong reaction Harry stared at him for a few moments before lurching from his seat and grabbing his Godfather in a tight hug.

"Padfoot, I don't-I could never-" He struggled for words for a moment before pulling back and forcing Sirius to meet his eyes. "It's not your fault Sirius. It's Dumblefuck's and the Dursleys'." He said firmly. Sirius gaped at him for a split second before taking a deep breath and nodding mutely a small smile playing around his mouth.

"Okay, now that you're all done being mushy and shite…" Karten's drawling voice startled Harry and caused him to scramble back to his own seat, an embarrassed flush creeping up his cheeks.

"Sorry," Harry mumbled, embarrassed at his own outburst. He usually tried to contain his emotions, his true emotions, and was actually quite horrified with at his lost of control, especially in front of a stranger.

"Yes, well," Karten huffed, "Now, as I was saying; the lacerations and abrasions are the most troublesome. I have some cream here that should take care of most of the old scaring, and some potions to take care of the fresh wounds you're hiding, as well."

Harry's face heated again at the reproach in Karten's voice. He shrugged slightly and mumbled another apology. Karten just rolled his eyes at him and began rummaging around in his Healer's bag. After a moment he pulled out a handful of vials full of differently colored liquids.

"Alright, lay on your stomach, Harry. This should only take a moment." Harry nervously complied and then hurriedly hid his face in mortification as the flimsy gown he was wearing fell open, exposing his battered back and ratty shorts.

 _Hmmm…I wonder if I could talk Sirius into a trip to Diagon to get me some new clothes…_ Harry mused, trying to take is mind off of the fact that two grown men were now starting at the old, holey, too-large pair of shorts he had on.

He was still quite shaken from actually telling someone about the abuse he had suffered at Privet Drive. Intellectually he knew what Vernon did to him was wrong, but ever since the ordeal with his primary school teacher, he had been weary of telling anyone; determined, instead, to deal with it on his own. Even though he was rather certain Sirius would believe him, Harry had been terrified of rejection. It was a huge weight off his shoulders, and it felt rather odd, if he were honest.

"Okay, Harry," Karten's voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he noticed that the Healer had moved closer. He was kneeling along side the couch that Harry was laying on, the cluster of vials on the floor beside him. "I'm going to cast a cleansing charm on the open wounds. It may sting a bit." Karten warned in a soothing tone.

Harry nodded and tensed a little when the spell washed over him. He sucked in a breath through his teeth and held it while the spell worked, squeezing his eyes shut.

 _Buggering_ _ **shite**_ _, he wasn't lying. Damn that twinges…_ Harry thought.

"Alright, now I'm going to use some _Dittany_ to close cuts, it shouldn't hurt, but it will tingle a bit I'm afraid." The Healer said after a few minutes. Again Harry nodded and braced himself, but was pleasantly surprised. Karten was right, were the _Dittany_ was applied he felt the pins-and-needles-like sensation he got when his foot would fall asleep. He relaxed slightly as he waited for the potion to work.

"Right, you will have to drink this one, Harry. So if you would sit up for me…" Karten said once all of the cuts were sealed. Harry pushed himself up on one arm and turned his body to face Karten. The Healer handed him a vial of dark green liquid and Harry raised an eyebrow at him inquiringly.

"It's _Deflome_. It will reduce the swelling on your back so that I can remove the bruising and your older scaring." He provide with a chuckle. Harry nodded before necking the potion with a grimace at the taste. Before lying back down, Harry glanced over at his Godfather. Sirius shot him an encouraging smile and thumbs-up. Harry rolled his eyes at his Godfather's immaturity and lay back down.

"De-bruising cream, pretty self-explanatory, eh?" Karten said, rubbing some thick, cool paste over his back. It didn't feel like anything at first, but after a few moments Harry felt some of the tension in his back ease and sighed as most of the pain in his back fell away.

"Excellent, looks as if it's working correctly. Ache gone, then?" Karten asked, noticing Harry's relief. Harry nodded and saw a smile flash across the Healer's face. "Wonderful, almost done now, Harry. One more, it's called Scar-Be-Gone." Harry rolled his eyes at name, "Again, pretty self-explanatory. It should take care of most of the scaring, but some of the oldest might not do much more than fade a bit."

He spread a warm, sticky feeling goo, mostly on his upper back and shoulders and stared to carefully massage it into the ropy scar tissue. Harry relaxed completely under Karten's firm, steady ministrations. He fell into a semi-asleep sate, so was startled a while later when he felt a hand shake his shoulder lightly.

"Harry?" Karten's voice pulled him fully back into the world of consciousness. He opened his eyes and blinked owlishly up at the Healer in mild confusion. "You fell asleep, Harry. I should have warned you; that anti-inflammatory can cause fatigue, I apologize."

"S'okay," Harry mumbled, sitting up. Karten smiled at him and moved off to start packing up his bag. Harry looked over at Sirius and grimaced at the humor on the older man's face.

"You were snoring, Pup!" Sirius chuckled. Harry glared at him and demonstrated his maturity by pulling a face and sticking his tongue out.

"Here, Harry." Karten said, interrupting before Sirius could retaliate. He conjured a full-length mirror and turned it to face Harry. "Want to see your back?" He asked with a small smile.

Harry turned around and looked over his shoulder at this own back reflected in the mirror. His eyes widened when he saw pale, flawless skin stretching between his shoulder blades. He ran his right hand over his left shoulder in amazement. He could only find two scars crisscrossing over his spine, but even those were faded and he had to look closely to see them.

After a moment he turned to look at Karten with wide eyes. " _Thank_ you," he said, his voice breaking with emotion.

"Well, you're quite welcome. Now, about what happened down in the kitchen…" Harry leaned forward eagerly; he could still feel the magic coursing through him and wanted to know what it meant.

"Well, I was right in my first assessment, but I wanted to wait until after the scans, just to be sure." Karten said, "You had what is called a _Connecting_. Generally those with exceptionally large magical cores will connect with their magic, this way they have better control over their power."

Harry nodded at this, he could defiantly feel his magic now, and he was certain he had a better grasp on how to control it.

"The scans I took showed that you had an unmodified infant bind on your magic." Harry frowned at this and Karten hurried to explain. "Lots of parents do this if their children show signs of strong accidental magic. But generally they are taken off when the child reaches eight or nine. It should have been removed when you went in for your vaccinations."

"Vaccinations? Like for Chicken Pox?" Harry asked, confused.

"No, I mean Wizard Vaccinations. Dragon Pox, things like that." Karten sighed. "Obviously you never received them, but that should have been on your medical file when you started Hogwarts…"

"Dumbledore!" Sirius shouted, jumping to his feet. "I'll kill that meddling old fool! He could have killed you!"

"Padfoot! Calm down!" Harry said, and sighed in relief when Sirius sank back into his chair. "Look, it's broken now, and I can access all of my magic…it's just another thing to add to the list against the old codger."

Harry glanced over at the confused Healer and grimaced. "I'm sorry, but could you keep that to yourself? Dumbledore has screwed me over one to many times and I would rather him not find out how much I know."

Karten smiled and nodded slightly, then rose to his feet and pulled a small wooden box from his bag. He tapped it with his wand, and it grew to the size of a loaf of bread.

"Well, that's my job done." Karten said. "I'm leaving a box of nutrient potion, to combat the Malnutrition." He sat the box gently on the coffee table. Harry heard glass rattling lightly inside it. "Take one at every meal and try not to skip meals, if it can be helped. I'll be back in two weeks with the potion for your eyes. We'll do a full check up then, any questions?"

"Yeah," Harry said, "That scar cream you used, do you think it would work on…" he trailed off uncertainly and gestured vaguely at his forehead. Karten cocked his head slightly and frowned.

"Let me take a look," He said, brushing Harry's fringe back from his face. He leaned in close and ran his thumb over the famous lightning scar before raising his wand and tapping it, murmuring in Latin. There was a flash of red light and Harry was abruptly thrown backward, pain lancing through his forehead, radiating out from his scar.

"Harry!" Sirius yelped, grabbing the teen and pulling him to his feet. "Harry, are you okay?"

"Wha-what-" Harry stuttered, leaning heavily on his Godfather. "K-Karten? What h-happened?"

Karten was struggling to his feet on the other side of the room; he too had been blasted back by the magical backlash. "I'm okay," he said, shaking his head as if to clear it. He staggered to the sofa and slumped down, dropping his head into his hands. Sirius guided Harry to a seat and sat down beside him, his arm still clamped tightly around his shoulders.

"Jasper," Sirius said, his voice gruff. Harry glanced up at him and saw fear and anger warring in his grey eyes. "What happened, what did you do?" Karten grimaced at the accusation in Sirius' voice and sighed tiredly.

"I-I don't quire know, Sirius." He said uncertainly. "I just cast a simple diagnostic…it shouldn't have reacted so…violently." He shook his head in frustration, his face twisting in anger. "Unless…" Harry leaned forward in concern as Karten's face abruptly paled and his eyes widened.

The Healer stood, suddenly and moved toward Harry. Sirius tightened his grip on the teen, but otherwise let Karten approach. "Is that a good idea…" Harry asked as Karten lifted his wand, about to tap Harry's scar again. He received no answer, Karten ignored him and started muttering rapidly in Latin, tapping him every once in a while.

"Oh, my God…" Karten finally whispered, leaning back. His face was ashen and his eyes wide. Sirius wrapped both arms around Harry and Harry leaned into the support, buoyed by the fact that someone cared.

"What _is_ it Jasper?" Sirius growled impatiently.

"I'm not quite sure," He said slowly, but hurried on when it seemed Sirius was going to speak again, "But it's Dark magic. Absolutely black and… _hateful_." He shuddered as he spoke, and rubbed a hand over his face. He shuddered again and looked up at the pair across from him.

"I don't have the expertise to deal with whatever is behind that scar," Karten said sadly. "But I will make some subtle inquiries at St. Mungo's." Sirius and Harry both nodded silently, still quite shaken.

"I think I will take my leave now…" Karten said, "Before anything else happens." That pulled a small chuckle from Harry and Sirius. They stood up and shook Karten's hand, before he turned and, pulling out a small bag of floo powder, disappeared in a flash of green flames.

Harry smiled tightly up at his Godfather for a moment, then began pulling his clothes back on. Once he was done he moved towards the door. "I think I'm going to go rest a bit, if that's okay?" He called over his shoulder.

"Sure, Pup. But we have an appointment at Gringotts at three," he cast a quick _Tempest,_ "So you have about an hour before we need to leave." Sirius said with a grin.

Harry gave his Godfather a strange look, but nodded and continued out the door and up to 'his' room.

ooOoo

Sirius sighed as he watched Harry slip out the door. He was full of mixed emotions about Jasper's visit. He was angry at what Harry had been put through at the Dursley's but that was tempered by his fear and concern about the Dark Magic behind his Pup's scar. But all of that was eclipsed, for the moment anyway, by a strange sense of giddy joy.

Prongslet trusted him. His Godson trusted _him_ , Sirius Orion Black! He was excited that things were happening, Harry was being treated for the malnutrition and Sirius trusted Jasper implicitly to find out what was wrong with that cursed scar on Harry's forehead. Things were looking up, he was finally in a position to help his Pup and things were looking up.

With a smile Sirius made his way to his study and began gathering the paperwork necessary for this trip to Gringotts. _This is going to change everything…I just hope Harrys ready._ Sirius thought with a smirk.

ooOoo

Harry looked up from his Transfiguration book when Sirius knocked on his door. "Come in!" He called from his position reclining on his bed. He laid the book, open to the page he was on, down on his chest and smiled when his Godfather opened the door a crack and poked his head though.

"Hey, Pup. What're you up to?" He caught a glimpse of the book on Harry's chest and grimaced. "Summer homework? Ew!" Harry chuckled at the Marauder's antics and sat up, closing his book.

"Yeah, yeah, might as well get it done now. I've always had to do it on the train to and from school." Harry said, an embarrassed flush creeping up his cheeks.

"Oh, well, uh…" Sirius floundered awkwardly for a moment before shaking himself and starting again. "Well as important as Transfiguration is," He rolled his eyes and Harry had to fight back a smile at the sarcasm in Sirius' voice, "We have a meeting at Gringotts, and the Goblins do _not_ like to be kept waiting."

This peeked Harry's interest and the teen levered himself to his feet. Cocking his head to the side just a little he gave his Godfather a confused look.

"Sirius, you're on the run, how-" Sirius cut off his question by slinging an arm around his shoulders and chuckling.

"I have my ways, Prongslet." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Prongslet?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrow sardonically.

"Yup," Sirius chirped happily, ignoring the look on Harry's face. "Until you master your own animagus shape and get your own Marauder name you are now dubbed 'Prongslet'."

Harry rolled his eyes again and let Sirius lead him down the stares. They chatted happily all the way down to the same sitting room Karten had healed Harry in.

"Okay, Pup. We are going to floo through to the Leaky Cauldron." Sirius said, "But first, I need to glamor us."

"Alright…" Harry said then flashed a cheeky grin, "I get it, you don't want everyone to know I'm better looking than you!"

Sirius gaped at him for a few moments, causing Harry to dissolve into laughter. "You-you cheeky bugger!" Sirius gasped as he watched his Godson wipe tears of mirth from his eyes.

"Oh, your face was priceless!" Harry gasped, finally regaining control of himself, only to dissolve again when Sirius started grumbling to himself about "cheeky teenagers" and Harry being "just-bloody-like Prongs."

"Okay, okay, calm down, you damn hyena!" Sirius said as he pulled out his wand. He waited until Harry was done gasping before waiving his wand over the teen and saying a couple words in Latin.

Harry felt a tingling sensation wash over him and raised an eyebrow at his now grinning Godfather. Sirius just winked at him and waved his wand over himself. Harry watched as Sirius' black hair lightened to a sandy brown, and his grey eyes turned green. There was not a huge change to the man's facial features but his whole face took on a softer edge, and rounder shape.

"Alright," Sirius said, after his glamor was in place. "Lets go."

"Wait! What did you make me look like?" Harry asked, looking around for a mirror. He had a sinking sensation that Sirius had paid him back for his cheek.

"Oh, not now, Pup! We're going to be late if we don't get going!" Sirius called over his shoulder as he moved to the fireplace. The Marauder pulled down an ornate pot of floo powder and ushered Harry forward.

Glowering but unable to locate a mirror, Harry took a handful of powder and stepped into the fireplace. With one last glare at his smiling Dogfather, he called out, "Leaky Cauldron!" and dropped the handful of powder.

A few seconds of green flames and spinning later Harry stumbled out into the Leaky Cauldron and promptly fell on his bum. Grumbling, the teen climbed to his feet and moved out of the way, just as the flames turned green once more and Sirius gracefully stepped out.

Harry shot the man a glare and began brushing the soot off of his cloths. With a chuckle Sirius stepped forward and, with a wave of his wand, vanished the soot from both of them.

"Where did you get a wand, anyway?" Harry asked under his breath.

"Oh, this?" Sirius shrugged and steered Harry toward the entrance to Diagon Alley, "It was my Mothers. I found it in the study. It's not a perfect fit, but it will do until I get a replacement."

Harry nodded and followed Sirius down the bustling alley towards Gringotts. Once inside the large marble bank Sirius led them to an unoccupied Goblin behind a podium labeled "Meeting Services" and offered a short bow of respect. Harry hurriedly copied the movement.

"Greetings, Master Goblin." Sirius said as he pulled a rolled piece of parchment from his pocket. "I'm scheduled to meet with Accounts Manager Rockclaw today."

"I see." The Goblin took Sirius' offered parchment and scanned it with small, dark eyes. "Very well, Master Rockclaw is available now. I will have someone come and collect you momentarily."

With another small bow, Sirius stepped back from the podium and off to the side, pulling Harry with him.

"What was the bowing about? And the Master Goblin stuff? Who is Accounts Manager Rockclaw? Why don't we learn this about Goblins at Hogwarts? Are these things I should know, like common sense? And why do I sound like Hermione right now?" Harry asked in a rush.

He felt himself flush at the look of amusement on Sirius' face and realized how demanding and…well Hermione-ish he sounded. Frowning at himself and the smirk on Sirius' face he folded his arms and waited for answers.

"Well, let me see if I can remember all of those questions…" Sirius chuckled. Harry just blushed harder and looked away, glaring at the far wall. "The bowing was a show of respect, as was the title Master Goblin. Always best to go with that one if you don't know their name or true title."

"So this stuff is common sense?" Harry asked, forgetting his frustration for the moment. "All magicals know this?"

"Well, yes and no…most of them know, but hardly any of them actually practice such niceties with the Goblins." Sirius shrugged, "Pure Blood bigotry for you, I suppose. As to Rockclaw, he is the Black Family Accounts Manager. I don't know the name of the Potter Family Manager, but he should be able to tell you."

Harry was about to ask more questions when a familiar Goblin walked up and told them to follow. They quietly followed him through a door off the main hall and down a narrow, torch lined, hallway.

As they neared the end, and the only door as far as Harry could see, Harry broke the silence. "Thank you for leading us, Master Griphook."

Griphook froze, his claw-like hand suspended in the air about to knock on the large door and turned around to look at Harry with wide eyes.

"You know my name, Mister Potter?" He asked. Harry was surprised that the Goblin had seen through his glamor so easily, but then again it was Gringotts, the safest bank in the world.

"Well, yeah." Harry shrugged, "You were the first Goblin I ever met, and you showed me down to my trust vault."

"I see," Griphook stared at him for a few more moments, seeming to study him, "You are a most unusual Wizard, Mister Potter."

"Err, thank you?" Harry glanced over at Sirius but he seemed as confused as Harry was.

With one last piercing look, Griphook opened the door and ushered them inside. The instant he stepped through the door Harry felt his glamor fall away and shivered at the tingling sensation.

Once he got his senses back under control, Harry noticed that the door closed behind them and guessed that Griphook had gone back to the main entrance. With a mental shrug, Harry looked around the large ornate office he found himself in.

"Ah, Mister Black." A gravely voice came from behind a large, paper laden, desk and Harry noticed a elderly looking Goblin seated there. "You've come to claim Headship, then? Good. I've protested your incarceration, but as I am a Goblin…" The Account Manager trailed off with a shrug.

"Thank you, Master Rockclaw. I understand your difficulties, and I thank you for trying anyway. It's good to know _some_ one tried to see me freed." The Goblin nodded in response and, after motioning them to the armchairs in front of his desk, pulled out a large file of parchment.

"Lets see, here. Yes, you are the rightful Heir, the next in line is young Draco Malfoy." Sirius growled softly at that.

"No, I shall take Headship, and name my Godson, Harry James Potter, as my Heir!"

"Very well. Do you have the Ritual Bowl?" Harry watched curiously as Sirius pulled a stone bowl and wicked looking Atheme from his bag. "Good, now if you would call the family magic?"

Sirius stood and held his right hand over the bowl, the Atheme gripped in his left. "I, Sirius Orion Black, call the Magic of the Black Family to me! Come as I claim my Birthright!"

Magic whipped around the room, but seemed to touch nothing and a strange silver mist seemed to collect in the bowl. Harry's eyes widened as some carvings around the outside of the bowl started to glow with power.

 _ **Who seeks the Black Family Name?**_ A deep, sibilant voice echoed out form the silver mist and seemed to permeate the room.

"I, Sirius Orion Black, Heir to the Black Family, seek your judgment and my rightful place as Head of this Noble and Most Ancient House." Sirius replied in a calm, confident voice.

 _ **Blood is the price. Blood is the key.**_ Sirius raised the Atheme and in one fluid motion sliced the palm of his right hand. Blood dripped into the swirling silver mist and a blinding flash of white light emitted from the bowl.

 _ **Bare the Headship well, Sirius Orion Black. We find thee, Worthy.**_ The magic in the room seemed to rush forward and merge with the silver mist before dissipating.

With a groan, Sirius slumped forward on to the desk, breathing hard. In a flash, Harry was by his side, supporting him back to his chair.

"Sirius? Are you okay?" Harry asked, worried about his pale, shaking Godfather.

"Sure, Pup. I'm fine." Sirius said, waving the teen off. "I'll be perfect in a second. Just takes a lot out of you…"

Harry glanced at the Accounts Manager for confirmation.

"Peace, Mister Potter." The old Goblin raised his hand and motioned Harry back to his seat. "Lord Black will be just fine. See? He is regaining color already."

"Well, Pup," Sirius said after a few more seconds of heavy breathing, a smirk stretching across his face. "Now it's your turn"


	4. Chapter 4: It's a National Secret?

**A/N: Sorry for the long delay, guys! Classes have been crazy and I could hardly find time to write between tests, essays and my duties as an officer in a campus organization! But the new chapter is finally here! I hope you all enjoy it! Please remember to favorite, follow and review!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I wish I did! Thanks to J.K.R. for such fun characters to play with!**

" _Well, Pup," Sirius said after a few more seconds of heavy breathing, a smirk stretching across his face. "Now it's your turn"_

"W-what?" Harry gulped. He looked at Sirius with wide eyes but his Godfather just grinned back.

"Indeed, if the Lord Black wishes to name you as his Heir you must undergo the _Rite of Ascension_. The Black Family Magic must deem you worthy, Mister Potter," the old Goblin looked at him gravely. Harry gazed back and forth between his rapidly recovering Godfather and the Goblin in silence.

"Pup, it'll be fine. I promise," Sirius said quietly after a few moments. Harry looked into the old Marauder's eyes anxiously before giving a short nod.

"Alright, what do I do then?" He sighed. Sirius smirked and jumped up to lead him though the short ritual. A few moments, and one stab wound, later Harry was seated once again.

"Excellent, Lord Black. Do you have your Family Keys so that I might have your rings brought up?" Accounts Manager Rockclaw asked, the Goblin equivalent of a smile on his knarled face.

"I do," Sirius replied, once again digging in his satchel. "Ah, here we are." He pulled out a jumble of keys tied together with what Harry assumed was a leather cord.

Rockclaw snapped his fingers and an armored Goblin stepped into the office. After a short order in Gobledegook the Guard, or at least that's what Harry assumed it was, departed with Sirius' keys. Once they were alone but for the three of them Rockclaw turned his grave eyes on Harry.

"Mister Potter, since you're here; I, on behalf of Gringotts, would like to enquire as to why you have neglected to respond to any of our correspondence in the last five years?" Harry gazed at the Goblin in shock for a moment before turning to Sirius, confusion written on his face.

"Correspondence?" Harry asked incredulously, looking back at the Accounts Manager. "I'm sorry, sir, but what correspondence?"

"Indeed, Mister Potter," Rockclaw said slowly, gazing intently at the teen. "We started sending you monthly account ledgers when you turned nine, as is our policy. And I personally have been sending letters inquiring about meeting since you turned eleven." Harry stared at the old Goblin openmouthed.

"Wait, Pup, do you mean you haven't been getting mail from Gringotts?" Sirius yelped, looking at Harry with wide eyes. "None at all?"

"Not that I know of, and I'm pretty sure I would notice if an owl dropped something off to me…" Harry said, frowning. A sinking feeling was starting in in stomach and suspicions were whirling through his head.

"I see…" Rockclaw rumbled. "It is as we feared then." The Goblin scribbled something on a piece of parchment and tapped it with a long finger. The parchment flashed white before diapering altogether.

A few seconds later the Guard came back in carrying two boxes. He placed the twin boxes on Rockclaw's desk and, after handing the ring of keys back to Sirius, retreated back to his spot by the door.

"Ah, the Lordship and Heirship rings." Rockclaw said, grinning. "Go on, then. Lets not wait for the grass to grow." He prompted when neither Harry nor Sirius moved.

Both wizards leaned forward and took a box. Harry felt a tingle of magic wash over him and had the curious feeling that the ring inside was testing his claim to it. After a moment of the odd tingling sensation the magic receded and the lid of the box popped open with a soft click.

Harry looked over and saw that the box Sirius was holding had done the same. Shrugging Harry opened the lid all the way to revel a shining silver ring. It was encrusted with glittering onyx stones and the Black family crest was etched into each side.

With a shaking hand Harry reached in and pulled the beautiful piece out. He gazed at it for a moment before sliding it onto the ring finger of his right hand. It flashed a brilliant white before shrinking to fit his finger snuggly. He saw a flash of light to his left and looked over to see Sirius admiring the slightly larger ring on his own hand.

"Very good," Rockclaw murmured. "They accepted you both."

Harry nodded and pulled his gave up from the ring on his finger and looked at his Godfather. "Err-how do I hide this? We don't want Dumbles seeing it, do we?"

"Good point, Pup." Sirius said, smirking at his Godson, "Just will it away if you want it hidden, and back again if you want to show it off."

Harry rolled his eyes and was about to retort when another Goblin entered the room. He was surrounded by a group of armored Goblin Guards.

This one looked slightly younger than Rockclaw and was glancing around nervously. Harry had a flash of recognition when he saw the pointed face, this was the Goblin who had taken his key the first time he entered Gringotts. Shaking his head to clear it, Harry noticed the Goblin's eyes widen when he caught sight of himself and Sirius.

"Y-you asked for me, Accounts Manager Rockclaw?" The new Goblin's voice was somewhat higher than Harry was expecting, and Harry noticed a slight tremor of fear.

"Yes, Counter Manager Ripfang. This is Mister Harry Potter and his Godfather Lord Sirius Black." Rockclaw introduced, an odd gleam in his eyes. Harry shifted nervously; uncomfortable with the looks Ripfang was shooting him.

 _He looks terrified, like I'm going to grass on him for something…_ Harry thought, frowning.

"V-very nice t-to meet you both…" Ripfang stuttered. Rockclaw leaned forward and pinned the younger Goblin with a glare.

"You seem unwell, Ripfang. Is something wrong?" The younger Goblin's face paled even more under the harsh glare of his superior. Harry frowned, glancing back and forth between the two, out of the corner of his eye he noticed Sirius trying to suppress a smirk.

"I-I am quite w-well, Accounts Manager…" Ripfang stuttered, "Is there something y-you needed my a-assistance w-with?" He cringed slightly when Rockclaw chuckled at that.

"Indeed I do require your assistance, Ripfang." He shifted some papers around on his desk before glancing back up, "Could you tell me how it happened that Mister Potter, Heir to the Potter line, was not brought to me, his Accounts Manager upon his first visit, or any thereafter, to Gringotts?"

The Counter Manager was staring up at Rockclaw with a growing look of anger and disbelief. His eyes were impossibly wide and he couldn't seem to control his mouth enough to form words, an angry flush of orange was creeping up his neck and suffusing the tips of his ears.

"W-what? I- that's- WHAT?" Ripfang finally stuttered. "That's not possible! I Welcomed him myself! I remember, Rubeus Hagrid had his key and I called for an underling to bring him straight to you, sir!"

Rockclaw sat back in his chair and regarded the young Goblin in silence. Sirius was sitting forward, frowning and Harry was watching all of them, confusion warring with recognition in his mind.

 _Why would there be such a huge miscommunication…and on top of all of the correspondence I'm supposed to have received?_ Harry shook his head, _No, this reeks of a set up…but who would…_ He sat up straighter as the answer came to him like a lightning strike.

Who would have a vested interest in his financial dealing? Who had been dabbling in his life ever since he was two? Who would have the connections to pull strings even in Gringotts?

"Albus bloody Dumbledore," it came out a whisper and no one seemed to notice, though Sirius did glance over at him for a second. That was just as well, Harry didn't want to voice his theory just yet…he had no proof, and he didn't know which of the Goblins it was safe to trust…

"I see, well then can you tell me just who it was that was given the role of young Mister Potter's guide?" Harry shook off his musings as Rockclaw spoke again. He noticed Ripfang frowning and shaking his head slightly, as if thinking deeply.

"I apologize sir, I cannot remember which youngling was given the task…" He said, obviously ashamed of himself.

"It was Griphook." Harry supplied, taking pity on the visibly upset Goblin, "His name was Griphook, I just saw him today, actually…he guided us here…" Harry trailed off, his eyes widening as he realized what he had just said.

"Harry? Are you okay?" Sirius asked, concerned. But Harry ignored him and turned to Rockclaw.

"You have to find him," Harry said, urgency in his voice. "He's working for Dumbledore! We can't let him tell that meddlesome old fool I'm here!" Rockclaw blinked in shock for a second before grabbing a piece of parchment and beginning to write quickly.

Harry sagged in relief as the Accounts Manager started issuing orders to the surrounding Goblin Guards without asking for details. Sirius, however, leaned in and gave Harry a stern look.

"Okay, Pup. What was all that about, then?" Ripfang was looking at them and seemed to be listening for Harry's answer as well. Harry shook his head and ran a hand nervously through his hair.

"I didn't want to say anything until I had some more proof, but…" He shrugged and glanced between the two, then over at Rockclaw, who was still issuing orders rapidly. "Look why don't we wait until I can tell Rockclaw as well? That way I don't have to explain twice?" He sent his Godfather a hopeful look and Sirius' face softened.

"Okay, Pup." Harry grinned slightly and settled back in his chair, watching Goblin Guards scramble in, out and around the room as Rockclaw barked in Gobledegook and scribbled on the strange, glowing parchment.

After about five minutes of this Harry was starting to worry. _What if he's already gotten a message out? What if Dumbledore is already on his way to take me back to the Dursleys?_ Harry froze as a horrifying thought struck him. _What if I'm wrong?_

Harry started to shake as possible Goblin punishments flashed through his head. He just knew that falsely accusing one of their own would carry a heavy penalty. As if sensing his distress, Sirius leaned over and gripped Harry's hand.

"It's okay, Pup. We'll get to the bottom of this," Harry shot Padfoot a relived smile and gave the Marauder's hand a squeeze.

"Thanks, Padfoot." He mumbled, suddenly aware that Ripfang was watching their interactions curiously. Harry looked at the young Teller Manager expectantly but just as Ripfang opened his mouth to say whatever was on his mind the office door opened to admit a small troupe of Guards.

"We found the traitor, Accounts Manager." The lead Guard said, well more like grunted. He was scowling and Harry noticed a small, limp figure being all but drug into the room behind him. "He was in the lower floo bay, we caught him attempting to place a firecall to Hogwarts."

Harry felt a strange mixture of relief and fear sweep through him. He was right, that much was clear; Griphook was trying to pass information to _someone_ at Hogwarts. But there was no way to know for sure that it was Dumbledore, and no way to know if any information had gotten through.

"Good. Bind him to a chair, and fetch us a pair of Trial Cuffs." Rockclaw growled, his face grim. At his word the group of Guards stilled and turned looks of astonishment and fear on the elder Goblin. Harry watched in confusion as even Sirius' expression showed his shock at the orders.

"What are you waiting for fools? Now!" Rockclaw snapped after a second of inactivity. The Guards jumped into action; two of them binding Griphook to a hastily conjured chair with thick, rough rope, while two others ran out the door, most likely in search of Trial Cuffs. Whatever those were.

Harry looked over at his Godfather for clarification on the Guard's reactions to Rockclaw's orders, but couldn't catch the man's attention as he was focused on Griphook's still, unconscious form. Shrugging, Harry turned to Ripfang.

"Err-excuse me?" He whispered, hoping not to draw Rockclaw's attention. The old Accounts Manager seemed right steamed, and Harry didn't want that wrath directed at him for interrupting.

"Yes, Mister Potter?" Ripfang asked, just as quietly. His eyebrows were raised, as if surprised that Harry was talking to him.

"Err-Harry, please." Harry mumbled, blushing in embarrassment. "I was just wondering, err-well, why was everyone so shocked that Rockclaw wanted…what was it? Trial Cuffs?" At Ripfang's nod he continued, "What are those, anyway? Why are they such a big deal?"

Ripfang regarded Harry closely for a few moments before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Well, Mister Potter, part of the reason everyone was so shocked over Accounts Manager Rockclaw's request was that there are very few outside the Goblin Nation who know of Trial Cuffs, or their function."

Harry leaned back in surprise. "Wait, they're like a National Secret?"

Ripfang chuckled softly at that, but nodded. "Indeed, Mister Potter. It is a well-known fact to the Wizarding Community that Goblins are immune to both Legilimency and Mind Altering Potions. This of course includes Veritaserum."

Harry nodded; he had read this in a few different books during his midnight library wanderings. It was why Goblins were left to their own internal justice, and why any infractions between Goblins and Wizards usually lead to rebellions; they couldn't put Goblins on trial without being assured of truthfulness. No one trusted Goblins to just be honest, after all.

"Well, Trial Cuffs are Goblin made artifacts that are imbibed with magic that forced any Goblin wearing them to tell the truth." Ripfang said after a moment of hesitation.

Harry gaped at him, shocked. "No wonder they're a secret," he whispered.

"Indeed. If Wizards were to find out that we have a way interrogate ourselves," Ripfang shook his head, "Well, I'm sure you could guess."

"They would try and force Ministry regulations on your justice system…and I'm sure it wouldn't stop there…" Harry murmured, his mind spinning through the possible scenarios. He shuddered at the thought, secretly glad that the Goblins kept this bit of magic to themselves. "I bet they would even try and pass some nonsense trying to make you wear them twenty four, seven."

"Indeed, Mister Potter. This is the fear that plagues the Goblin Nation, this is why we guard our secrets closely." Ripfang said, watching the teen closely.

Harry frowned, "Then why tell me? I mean if it's such a big secret then it's a bad thing to tell me, right?"

Ripfang look at Harry closely, as if weighting his worth. "You're a strange Wizard, Harry Potter. Very strange indeed. You already know of the Cuffs' existence, since Accounts Manager Rockclaw deigned to mention them in front of you." He shrugged his small shoulders and smirked. "I decided it would be best to impress upon you the importance of maintaining this secret." Ripfang paused, giving Harry a calculating look, "And, Mister Potter, you seem a rather trustworthy young man."

Harry ducked his head, blushing again. He was relived when the office door opened again, saving him for replying to such an odd statement. _Jeeze that's the second time I've been called strange here…why do they have to make it all weird?_ Harry rolled his eyes at the quirks of Goblins and refocused on the Goblin that was coming through the door.

"I have the Cuffs, Accounts Manager." Growled the newly arrived Guard. Harry noticed that he was panting slightly; as if he had run all the way back from getting the Cuffs. In light of Rockclaw's current mood Harry certainly couldn't blame him if he had.

"Very good, Slipear. Bring them," Rockclaw motioned the Guard forward. "Place them upon the traitor."

The Cuffs were large ornate metal bands that seemed to be made from many different substances. Harry could pick out gold and silver, along with what he thought was iron and perhaps some copper. Four chains connected the bands, each link made of a different metal, and the whole of them were covered with runes. The runes seemed to be carved into the gleaming metal, but also had a slightly burnt look to them.

The Guard unhinged the Cuffs, Harry couldn't see the opening mechanism and just assumed they worked on magic alone, and slipped them onto Griphook's limp wrists. The Cuffs flashed white for a second before shrinking to fit snuggly around the Goblin's limbs.

"Mister Potter," Harry looked away from the gleaming Cuffs at the sound of his name. Rockclaw was looking at him with a grim, yet determined, gleam in his eyes. "Could you tells us, now, how you came to suspect that Junior Teller Griphook was…spying, on your account activity?"

Harry took a deep breath and glanced over at Sirius. His Godfather had an unusually grim look about him, but forced a smile for Harry and nodded his head. Looking back up at Rockclaw, Harry slowly laid out his suspicions, gaining confidence the more he spoke.

"I have an eidetic memory," he started, "I can remember everything I've ever learned, or experienced. So I _know_ it was Griphook who showed me to my vault the first time I came to Gringotts. Now, if he directly went against his orders to bring me to you, well he had to have a reason right? He wouldn't risk that much trouble on a whim."

Sirius and Rockclaw nodded, bolstering Harry's confidence. "Well, I started trying to think of who would have reason to mess with my relationship with Gringotts…and I ended up at Dumbledore."

Rockclaw studied him for a moment before responding, "And what makes you think it is Mr. Dumbledore to whom Griphook is reporting? No offence but that's quite a leap."

"None taken." Harry mumbled, he paused for a moment, deciding how much he should tell the Goblins. He glanced at his Godfather and smiled at the nod he received. He sighed deeply, "But I guess, to answer that, I should start by explaining why I don't trust Albus Dumbledore." Harry chuckled darkly, "It's a rather long tale…"

Harry spent the next hour and a half basically rehashing the conversation that he had had with Sirius earlier that morning. Sirius piped up and added things here and there but otherwise stayed silent, a thoughtful look on his face. Rockclaw, however, seemed to be growing more infuriated the longer Harry spoke.

Finally, once Harry was finished detailing all of the happenings at Hogwarts, and all of his suspicions about Dumbledore, he fell silent.

"I…see…" Rockclaw said slowly, "That…is a lot to take in, Mister Potter."

Harry nodded, just relived that Rockclaw wasn't dismissing his suspicions out of hand, or worse, laughing at him.

"All of this is quite worrying…I see now why Lord Black is…taking you under his wing, as it were." Again Harry nodded, Rockclaw seemed to be deep in thought, and was shuffling through the copious notes he had taken while Harry was speaking.

"Alright, there are two items from your story that need to be addressed in more detail after we finish with this," he jerked his thumb at the slumped form of Griphook, "First, the carcass of the Basilisk. From your description it's rather large, and as Basilisk parts can be quite lucrative I would suggest rendering it down and selling it."

Harry blinked at Rockclaw, he hadn't considered making money off of the Basilisk. Now that the idea was there, however, he could see the merit and an odd feeling of de-ja-vu swept over him.

"Can we do that? Wouldn't the school have prior claim, since it was Slytherin's familiar after all," Harry asked, shaking off the odd feeling.

Rockclaw smiled slightly, an odd look on a Goblin to be sure. "Yes, Mister Potter. The law is quite clear on this. Basilisks are Class Five Beasts, according to the Ministry of Magic, as such the carcass falls under the Game Spoils clause in the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures Laws."

At Harry's blank look Rockclaw elaborated, "You killed it, you keep it, Mister Potter."

"Oh," was all Harry could say to that as he mentally calculated how much such a massive beast would be worth in potions ingredients.

"Oh, indeed, Mister Potter." Rockclaw chuckled. Harry blushed and caught the amused look Sirius shot him. He scowled at his unsupportive, prat of a Godfather before focusing once again on Rockclaw. "We shall have to arrange a time for a team to render your…prize."

Harry snorted at that description of the giant snake, but other wise stayed quite, waiting for the second bit of information that needed discussing. He didn't have to wait long.

"The second item is…a little more distressing, I'm afraid." Rockclaw glanced between the two wizards in the room, discomfort etched into his expression. "Your tale indicates that the Dark One is not yet dead…"

Harry nodded; he had wondered what the Goblin's reaction would be to that bit of information. _I just hope they believe me…_

"This coincides with the Goblin Nation's findings as well…" At both Sirius and Harry's surprised expressions Rockclaw smiled grimly and explained. "We too are aware of his origins, Mister Potter. Tom Riddle claimed the title of Heir Slytherin while he was still at school."

"Oh, but why would that have anything to do with knowing he is alive now?" Sirius asked. Harry looked to Rockclaw, curious for the answer as well.

"Well, he was indeed the last living descendent. As such he took over the Slytherin vault, since it is still activated, and no other has come to state superior claim," Rockclaw shot Harry a significant look, startling the green eyed teen. "We have to conclude that the owner of the vault is still alive, in some form."

"What was that look for, then?" Sirius asked, loosing the tact he had kept throughout most of the meeting. Harry rolled his eyes at his Godfather's bluntness.

"I apologize for my _dear_ Godfather's rudeness, Rockclaw." Harry said, ducking away from the Marauder's offended swat. Rockclaw chuckled at the byplay. "But I am curious myself, so if you could kindly answer his, albeit blunt, question?"

"What do you know of Inheritance Rights, Mister Potter?" Rockclaw said slowly, a slow, menacing smile creeping across his face at Harry's shrug.

"Nothing, I grew up in the Muggle world and until this summer no one tried to teach me about Magical Society…" Harry said, glancing at Sirius. The old Marauder was looking at Rockclaw with a frown, as if trying to figure out what the old Goblin was up to.

"Well, allow me to enlighten you, Mister Potter," Rockclaw said.

"Call me Harry, please," Harry interrupted. Rockclaw inclined his head before continuing.

"There are two ways to loose the title of Head of House in the wizarding world, Harry. One is if you are killed, injured, or otherwise incapacitated. But that is only if there is an Heir who is of age and able to take up the Title. Otherwise the Title is just dormant, as with the Longbottom Headship." Harry nodded his head to indicate he understood.

"Wait, what about me?" Sirius asked, leaning forward. "How can I still be Head of House if I was incarcerated in Azkaban? Wouldn't that fall under 'incapacitated'?"

"No, as you were never tried or convicted our records still indicated that you were the next Head of the Black Family. If you had been convicted, there would have been a year long grace period, incase new evidence came up or the like, before you lost your claim." Rockclaw explained, Sirius leaned back with a nod.

"So that means the Ministry is aware that Sirius never got a trial?" Harry yelped, eyes wide. "That's-that's…" His voiced trailed off as he searched for the right word.

"Criminal?" Rockclaw supplied, Harry nodded his head vigorously. "Yes, indeed it is. We here at Gringotts believe that it is a cover up for the failings of certain wizards in positions of power; Bartemus Crouch, Cornelius Fudge, and Albus Dumbledore."

"What makes you think that?" Harry asked, frowning as he thought over this new information.

"Crouch was the Head of the Auror department when Sirius was arrested, he was the one who, at the urging from Dumbledore, gave the order to remand Lord Black to Azkaban. We approached Fudge with all of this information when Lord Black first broke out of prison, but he decided that covering it up would look better to the public," Rockclaw said, a look of disgust marring his face.

"Why would Dumbledore advise Crouch to throw me straight into Azkaban?" Sirius asked, frowning deeply.

"I have no conclusive evidence, however, if I were to hazard a guess…" Rockclaw shrugged and then gestured towards Harry. "He seems to have an abnormal interest in Harry here, perhaps he wanted you out of the way so that he could have more control over the lad?"

Harry frowned, thinking rapidly. Pieces were beginning to connect in his mind to make up a rather grim story. "Sirius, didn't you say that you and my parents were in Dumbles' little vigilante group?"

"Yeah, the Order of the Phoenix," Sirius answered, frowning at Harry in confusion. "Why?"

Harry shook his head and pinned his Godfather with a grim look. "My parents died, I was dumped in an abusive home, the Longbottoms were tortured into insanity, and you were shipped off to Azkaban, on Dumbledore's advice, without a trial. All within one week."

Sirius and Rockclaw were looking at him with comprehension in there eyes as Harry laid out the facts like that.

"All of the people involved were part of his little group, right? It just seems kind of suspicious is all…" Harry trailed off, he knew Dumbles had an end game, all of the pieces fit. He just couldn't see what the old man stood to gain from it all.

"But what would it gain him? Getting us out of the way, I mean." Sirius asked, unknowingly voicing Harry's thoughts.

"Perhaps the traitor," Rockclaw gestured to the slumped form of Griphook, "Can enlighten us a bit, however, that will have to wait a couple more moments. As I was saying, the first way to loose the Head of House title is by death or incapacitation."

Harry and Sirius gave Rockclaw sheepish looks as he directed the conversation back to the topic at hand. There was a lot of information being discovered and it was hard for the teen to keep it all straight.

"The second way, however, is Conquest." Rockclaw said with an evil smile. "If a House enters into a duel with another House, and looses, then the winning House takes the loser's titles and property."

"Wait," Harry interrupted, a frown on his face. "That doesn't make sense. If that were the case then Houses would be switching ownership left and right over any little disagreement."

Rockclaw shook his bald head at the teen, "No, you misunderstand. I don't mean one member, or even multiple members of one House fighting with members of another. I mean if all of the members of a House oppose all of the members of another House, you may call it a blood feud, and that dispute ends in battle, the titles may transfer. But as I said, every member of both Houses have to be involved."

Harry stared at Rockclaw as his brain tried to comprehend what he had been told. "So that means…my mum, dad and me were the last of the Potters…and if Voldemort was the last of the Slytherins…then…"

"You won, Mister Potter." Rockclaw said simply. "You can therefore claim the Slytherin Title through the right of Conquest."

"But he's not dead," Harry said desperately, overwhelmed by this new information. "I can't have won by Conquest, he didn't die…"

"That doesn't matter, Pup." Harry looked over to Sirius wildly. He was relieved to see his Godfather looking so calm, if a little grim, it went a long way to settling his own nerves. "You still beat him in a duel that he provoked. Therefore, his titles are forfeit."

Rockclaw nodded in agreement, looking happy, well as happy as a Goblin could look. "Indeed, Lord Black, very well said."

"Okay, but what does that mean?" Harry asked, looking from Sirius to Rockclaw and back again. The two were smiling grimly at him in a manner that, quite frankly, gave him chills.

"That means, Harry, that you are eligible to take up all of Tom Riddle's titles." Rockclaw explained. "It means you need to take an inheritance test."

Sirius was grinning like a loon and nodding along with Rockclaw, "Pup, this is perfect! You could inherit some vaults from the crazy git! Vaults that Dumbles isn't monitoring."

Harry perked up at that, possibilities whirling through his head. He could buy a whole new wardrobe, and _books_! Harry's musing was broken by Rockclaw clearing his throat.

"Well, hopefully after we interrogate him," he motioned towards Griphook, "Mister Dumbledore won't be monitoring any vaults here…"

"No!" Harry yelped, eyes widening. Both Rockclaw and Sirius jumped at his outburst and looked at him incredulously. "We can't let Dumbles know we're onto him, if his informant suddenly disappears he will know something's up!"

Rockclaw frowned but nodded his head at the teen's logic. "I'm afraid you're right…we will have to question the traitor and wipe his memory afterwards."

"Hmmm, this could be beneficial to us. This way we will be able to feed Dumbles the information we want him to have and keep Griphook from information we want kept private."

"Well, then we shouldn't delay any longer. Let us question the traitor, afterward we can set up a team to retrieve the Basilisk, quietly of course, and speak more on Harry's inheritances." Rockclaw said, clapping his clawed hands.

Harry and Sirius nodded, both eager to see if Harry's suspicions were correct. Rockclaw waved a knarled hand and a pulse of magic swept across the room and over Griphook, waking the Goblin slowly.

Once Griphook was awake he began to look around the room in confusion and mounting panic. Harry watched dispassionately as the Goblin fought silently against his bindings, there seemed to be some sort of silencing charm on him. The traitorous Goblin seemed to grow even more scared when he noticed just what his binding were.

"Junior Teller Griphook," Rockclaw's voice rang out, startling the younger Goblin. "You are here to answer questions regarding irregularities surrounding your dealings with the Potter Heir."

Griphook's eyes grew wide at that, and he started fighting his bindings even harder, while shaking his head rapidly. Harry frowned and looked over at Sirius, the old Marauder glanced back at Harry and shrugged, stumped by the Goblin's behavior as well.

"Enough! Sit and answer to your crimes, do not snivel and cringe as a coward!" Rockclaw barked, effectively ending Griphook's struggling. The younger Goblin slumped in his seat and became still, obviously waiting for the axe to fall, so to speak. Again there was a wave of magic from Rockclaw's raised hand, canceling the silencing charm on Griphook, at least that's what Harry assumed it was.

Rockclaw stayed silent for a moment, as if to make sure that Griphook wouldn't start to scream and yell no that he was free of the silencer. Finally, after a few moments of tense silence, Rockclaw began the interrogation.

"Are you Junior Teller Griphook?" Rockclaw all but barked.

"Yes," Harry was surprised at how soft Griphook's voice was. It sounded as if the Goblin were already resigned to his death.

"Were you tasked with escorting Young Mister Potter to my office upon his first visit to Gringotts?" Rockclaw asked, glaring down at the slumped Goblin.

"Yes," came the soft reply.

"Why did you abstain from completing this task?" Harry leaned forward, anticipating the answer. He noticed Sirius do the same out of the corner of his eye.

"I was paid to keep Harry Potter from obtaining knowledge of his heritage here at Gringotts, and to report all information on the Potter Finances, or Harry Potter's activates here." Harry glanced at Rockclaw; it looked as thought they would have to pry the information out of him.

 _I guess he isn't quite done fighting yet…_ Harry thought grimly. Shaking himself mentally, he refocused on the Goblins.

"And who was it that paid you?" Rockclaw asked, his voice dangerously calm.

Griphook took a deep breath and seemed to be trying to fight the Cuff's magic. Harry was on the edge of his seat; if Griphook said Dumbledore it would validate all of his suspicions.

"I…never…saw his face…" Griphook grunted, obviously struggling to keep the information to himself by telling half truths.

"But you know his name?" Rockclaw asked, his voice still deadly calm.

"Yes," Griphook hissed, glaring up at the Accounts Manager.

"What is the name of the one who paid you to…'keep Harry Potter from obtaining knowledge of his heritage here at Gringotts'?" Rockclaw asked, looking down at the notes his dicta-quill had taken in order to quote Griphook exactly. It wouldn't do for the Goblin to weasel out of answering the question, after all.

"…Albus Dumbledore." Griphook finally grunted, before slumping forward, as if in defeat, but Rockclaw wasn't finished quite yet.

"Is that who you were attempting to contact when my guards found you today?"

"Yes." Griphook said grudgingly.

"And what were you attempting to report?"

"That Harry Potter was here, with Lord Black, and that he was meeting with you."

"Why were you asked to report on Harry Potter's activity?"

"It was for the 'Greater Good'. He wanted Potter kept in the dark."

"I see, and what other services are you being paid by Albus Dumbledore to do?"

"He has tasked me with reporting on the activity of Mister Potter, Lord Black, Mister Longbottom, Madame McGonagall, Mister Snape, Lord Flamel, and Mister Slughorn."

"Slughorn?" Harry asked, confusion marring his features. "Who is Slughorn?"

"Horace Slughorn was the Potions Professor when I was in school…" Sirius supplied, frowning. "But why would Dumbledore want his financial dealings monitored?"

"Yes, curious indeed." Rockclaw said, tapping his fingers on his desk. After a moment of thought he leaned forward and addressed Griphook again. "Did Albus Dumbledore tell you why he wanted those particular accounts watched?"

"Yes." Griphook said, scowling at the Accounts Manager.

"Why did Albus Dumbledore want Mister Slughorn's account watched?" Rockclaw said, a little impatience creeping into his voice. Harry really couldn't blame the man, err Goblin, Griphook was being particularly stubborn with his answers.

"He said that it was for the 'Greater Good' and that he wanted to be able to find Horace Slughorn quickly if the need arose." Griphook said grudgingly.

"I see, and why did you decide to comply with Albus Dumbledore's wishes?" Rockclaw asked.

"I wanted the money." Griphook said simply, glaring up at Rockclaw.

"How much was he paying you?"

"One thousand Galleons a week."

Rockclaw frowned and shuffled some papers around on his desk. Picking up a file he flipped through the parchment before looking back up at Griphook in confusion.

"When did you start excepting payment from Albus Dumbledore?" He asked, still gripping one of the sheets from the open file.

"November third, nineteen eighty one." Griphook ground out.

"Albus Dumbledore has been paying you one thousand Galleons a week for thirteen years?" Rockclaw asked, his eyebrows raising in surprise. "That is close to one hundred and sixty thousand Galleons!"

"That is correct," Griphook said, his fist were clenched and blood was dripping from were his nails had dug into his flesh.

"Wait," Harry said, frowning over at Griphook. "Can Dumbledore afford that? That's a lot of money,"

Rockclaw shook his knarled head and tapped his finger on the paper he still had clutched in his hand. "No, Mister Dumbledore does not have that kind of wealth to bandy about." He address Griphook again, "When did Albus Dumbledore acquire the money he paid to you?"

Griphook was really trying to fight the Cuff's effects now; he was sweating and shaking in his seat. His fists were clenched so hard his knuckles were white and his eyes were darting around as if looking for an escape. But the magic of the Cuffs would not be denied.

"He…claimed…magical guardianship…of…Mister Potter." Griphook's voice sounded strained, as if the magic was literally forcing him to speak. "He…siphoned the money…out of the main…Potter…vault…"

Rockclaw was shuffling through more files furiously now, a look of rage on his face, the like of which Harry had never seen before. Sirius even looked a little concerned at the level of fury radiating from the Accounts Manager.

"How could this happen?" Rockclaw barked, finally seeming to find the papers he was searching for. "How did no one notice this? I must sign off on every transaction done by anyone other than the Head of House!"

"I covered it up." Griphook said, almost sounding smug. "Every transfer was done through me, and forged your signature on the acknowledgement files."

"Is there anything else you are trying to hide about your illegal dealings with Mister Dumbledore?" Rockclaw all but growled.

"There are other spies for him within Gringotts," Griphook said, looking furious at this admission. Rockclaw leaned forward and asked the obvious question, what were the names of the other spies.

"I don't know." Griphook said a smug smile creeping onto his face.

"Very well. Guards, please stun the traitor." Rockclaw sighed. He looked exhausted, all traces of anger gone for the moment. He sat silently for a few moments as the Guards stepped forward and cast a silent spell on Griphook.

Harry watched the Accounts Manager curiously, he knew the old Goblin was blaming himself for some of Griphook's crimes, but the teen didn't know how to go about reassuring a Goblin. Finally, after about five minutes of tense silence and a couple of share looks with Sirius, Harry decided to just go for it and tell the Goblin that it wasn't his fault.

"You can't blame yourself, you know?" Harry said hesitantly. Rockclaw looked up at him, startled. Even Ripfang, who had been silent through the whole interrogation, looked surprised at Harry's statement.

"Mister Potter, I assure you I can blame myself," Rockclaw said, "I failed you. I allowed your money to be stolen and your trust to be violated."

"No," Harry shook his head, "I blame Dumbledore, not you. You've done everything you can to help me, to help us." Harry said, gesturing between himself and Sirius.

"He's right, Rockclaw." Sirius agreed, "Stop blaming yourself, we need to move forward and figure out were to go from here."

"You are both very strange wizards," Ripfang said, amazement coloring his tone. Harry and Sirius both turned to look at the Goblin Teller. "You remember the names of Goblins who server you, you go out of your way to make us feel equal, and now, you try and ease a Goblin's guilt…" Ripfang shook his head and exchanged a look with Rockclaw.

"Yes, strange they are indeed." Rockclaw murmured before clapping his hands and straightening up. "Right, first things first; we need to modify Griphook's memory of today and erase any knowledge of you two being in the bank or being questioned about Dumbledore. Then the real fun begins…"

Harry felt a shiver go up his spine at the evil glee shining on Rockclaw's face. He and Sirius exchanged looks and Harry had to crack a grin at the concern he found on his Dogfather's face. It took about fifteen minutes for Rockclaw to get Griphook sorted and false memories implanted in the young Goblin's head.

"Is there anyway to fight that?" Harry asked Sirius quietly. He was worried about his own memories being tampered with, it just seemed to easy and Harry was rather fond of his memories the way they were.

"Don't worry, Pup." Sirius said, reaching across to squeeze his arm lightly. "I will be teaching you Occulamency this summer, that will help you protect your mind."

"Against invasion, yeah I know. But against this…" Harry shook his head and gave his Godfather a worried look. "Is there a branch of Occulamency that can help with keeping false memories out?"

Sirius sat quietly for a moment, frowning in thought. "I don't know, Pup. But we will look into it this summer, eh?"

Harry nodded, still rather worried but feeling better now that he knew Sirius would help him research ways to protect his mind better.

 _I just wouldn't put it past the old fool to Obliviate me and give me false memories, if it suited his 'Greater Good'…_ Harry was pulled out of his thoughts by Rockclaw clapping his knarled hands.

"Okay, now that Griphook is out of the way, we can proceed to more…lucrative endeavors."

Harry leaned forward and smiled at the old Goblin, "The Basilisk?" At the Goblin's nod Harry continued, "It'll be hard, we'll have to enter Hogwarts without alerting Dumbles…"

"Yes, but let us relish the challenge." Rockclaw said, his dark eyes glittering. Harry chuckled but listened intently as Rockclaw laid out a plan to render the giant snake, all right under Dumbledore's crooked old nose.

"Excellent, now on to the matter of your inheritances…" Rockclaw said, sitting back in satisfaction. "We will have to fill out the approprieate paper work, but other than some signatures all I need from you, Harry is a small amount of blood for the Quill."

Harry nodded, this didn't sound too bad. "Okay, then what? Do I just get the keys for whatever Vaults I inherit?"

Harry frowned in concern when all he got in answer was a hearty chuckle, even Sirius and Ripfang were smiling at him in amusement.

"What?" He asked, crossing his arms. "What did I miss?"

"No, Mister-Harry." Rockclaw corrected himself, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "You will have to go through the same ritual that Lord Black did, for ever title you wish to inherit."

"What?" Harry yelped, looking at the room's occupants with wide eyes.

"Yeah, Pup." Sirius chuckled. "But it wont be too bad, you just have to do the Heirship Claim ritual…so it won't quite so intense."

"Lord Black is correct, Harry." Rockclaw said, "But it could take a while, we do not know how many houses you may have claim to…"

Harry nodded warily and sat back, watching the flurry of activity begin around him. Forty-five minutes, and several documents, later Harry sat back, rubbing his hand where the legal quill had cut into him.

"Okay, now for the rituals," Rockclaw announced, causing Harry to groan. "Lets see, you currently have Claim to several different Heirships. Of course, there is Potter and Black, which you already claimed, and ah, just as I thought, Slytherin. Hmmm, curious, it seems you also have a Claim to the Peverell line…curious indeed…"

"Is that all?" Harry asked curiously.

"No, it seems you also have a Claim to the line of Gryffindor. It is a minor Claim, but as the first in line has not taken Heirship you have a chance to take it for yourself."

Harry frowned at that, "Who has the superior Claim?"

Rockclaw shuffled a few papers and pulled one length of parchment from a large file. "It seems the Heir of the Longbottom has the superior Claim, as his family is descended from the primary line."

Harry tilted his head in thought. _Curious indeed, I doubt he even knows…well if I were to let this information slip…it could boost his confidence at the very least._ Harry mused, thinking about the slightly chubby, timid young man he shared a dormitory with.

Harry shook his head decisively. "No, let it stay with Longbottom for the moment. I doubt he knows he has Claim to it."

Rockclaw gave him an odd look, but shrugged and marked it down. He had Harry go through all the rituals fairly quickly, the teen's irritation with the whole thing quite clear. After an hour and a half Harry was sat back down, sipping a blood-replenishing potion and waiting on the Heirship rings to be retrieved from several of his many Vaults.

"So, do I have any Vaults I can use under the radar?" Harry asked hopefully.

Rockclaw was shuffling through a huge mound of paper work that came with Harry's Ascension Rites. He glanced up at the teen, a sly smirk on his face. "Why yes, Harry. It looks like there is an inactive trust vault on the Peverell line."

Harry leaned forward eagerly, "And how much money is there?"

"Well the Vault is empty at the moment…" Harry frowned at that and leaned back dejectedly.

"How is that supposed to help anything? Every Galleon I spend is still monitored by Dumbles…" He grumbled. Rockclaw smirked at the teen and shot a conspiratorial wink at Sirius. The old Marauder grinned back.

"You're right of course…however," Rockclaw started, trailing off in mock uncertainty.

"What?" Harry sat up straight, intrigued by the Goblin's tone. He noticed the Accounts Manager shoot his Godfather a smirk before tuning back to him.

"Well, your guardian only gets notifications about the Potter Vaults…and we only send out statements about external transactions so…" again he trialed off.

Harry's mind was whirling, spinning through ideas of where Rockclaw was going with this information. After a moment's thought he shot up as if a light blub when off in his head.

"So Sirius can transfer money from one of the Black Vaults into the Peverell trust Vault and we would have unlimited, unmonitored access!"

"Indeed, Harry. And now that you have suggested it…" Rockclaw glanced at a dazed looking Sirius. "Lord Black, what are your instructions?"

Sirius seemed to shake himself before throwing a grin at Harry. "Lets transfer about…oh, three thousand Galleons into the Peverell Trust Vault, eh?"

Harry beamed at this Godfather and shot up to give in a quick hug. After a moment he sat back down in his own seat and watched as Rockclaw begain the parchment work needed for the transfer.

"We have the rings, sir." A Goblin Guard said a few moments later as he came into the room. He was carrying three ring boxes, two of which were covered in copious amounts of dust. Come to mention it, the Guard was covered in dust and cobwebs too.

"What happened to you?" Harry asked curiously. The Guard turned to look at him in surprise but quickly covered his lapse.

"The Vaults you have Claimed are quite old, milord." He said with a short bow. "The treasures in them have collected dust for some time now."

"Oh," Harry muttered, blushing at the 'milord' comment. "Well, thanks for getting the rings then, sorry you got so dirty doing it."

The Guard gave him another strange look, as if trying to solve a particularly challenging puzzle, but bowed nevertheless and replied, "It was my pleasure, milord."

Harry nodded; blushing deeply and the Guard went back to his spot by the door. Rockclaw, having watched the whole exchange, cleared his throat to get the boy's attention.

"Well, if you would don your rings, Harry, I think we can conclude for today." Harry sighed in relief at that and reached for the ring boxes. They all acted the same as the Black Heir ring and merged together. Rockclaw and Sirius explained how he could cycle through the rings, depending on the one he wanted to show, and how he could show one merged ring if he wanted as well.

"Good evening, milords. And again, I shall get to the root of Dumbledore's hold on our bank, don't you worry." Rockclaw said as they stood to leave.

"We trust you, Rockclaw." Sirius said, shaking the old Goblin's hand.

"Yeah, just be careful, eh?" Harry added, earning a quizzical look from both Rockclaw and Ripfang. "Dumbledore is obviously ruthless, I don't want you getting hurt…" He trailed off, blushing at the looks he was getting.

"Thank you, Mister-Harry." Rockclaw corrected himself. "We shall indeed be…discreet."

"And don't forget, come to me any time you come through the front." Ripfang added, taking his turn to shake the two wizard's hands. "Even if you are in disguise, just flash your ring and I will send you straight here."

"Thank you," Harry called as they left the office. They made their way out to the bank floor, as they passed through the final door, Harry felt the Glamor resettle over him.

"Okay, Pup." Sirius said, clapping a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Time for some shopping, eh?" He winked down at the teen and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. I guess I could pick up a couple things…" Harry glanced at Sirius out of the corner of his eye. "And you do need a new wand…but won't Olivander know who we are?"

"Oh, no, Pup." Sirius said as they stepped out onto the cobbled street of Diagon Alley. "We aren't going to Olivander's." He waggled his eyebrows, and winked. "We're going down Kockturn Alley."


	5. Chapter 5: Training, Trust, Tongue Ring?

**Alright, I'm sorry this took so long…Life happened? Somehow that seems like a lame excuse but there it is. I really hope everyone who is still following this story likes this chapter, leave me a review and let me know!**

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I wish I did! Thanks to J.K.R. for such fun characters to play with!**_

" _Oh, no, Pup." Sirius said as they stepped out onto the cobbled street of Diagon Alley. "We aren't going to Olivander's." He waggled his eyebrows, and winked. "We're going down Knockturn Alley."_

—

"Knockturn Alley?" Harry asked excitedly, blinking up at his Godfather. Sirius grinned and nodded his head. "Really? I've always wondered what was down there, but Hagrid and the Weasleys…" He trailed off with a shrug.

Sirius gave him a pat on the shoulder, "Yeah, right up-tight bunch, them. But truly they were right to be cautious, Knockturn Alley can be…" Harry noticed his Godfather shiver slightly, and it only served to enhance his curiosity.

"Well, lets be off, then." Harry said, grabbing Sirius by the arm and pulling him along. Sirius chuckled but gave in to the teen's prodding and started off toward the entrance to the so-called dark alley.

Harry bounced along happily for a few moments before he noticed something odd; people along the street were giving him strange looks. Harry tilted his head and glanced around, the looks that he was attracting were a mix between indulging smiles and those looks that girls often got before they started to squeal about how "cute" something was.

 _What in the world…?_ Harry frowned and glanced down at himself. A slight ripple of distortion over his normal robes startled him for a moment before it clicked; the glamor that Sirius placed. Suspicious now, the teen glanced up at his Godfather with narrowed eyes.

"Padfoot?" He said casually, keeping his tone light. The Marauder didn't even look down at him, just hummed in acknowledgement. "What did you make me look like with that glamor of yours?"

Even with the innocent tone Harry's question caught the older man's full attention. "Oh, nothing too interesting, Pup." He said, looking down at Harry's now scowling face with a grin, "I turned your black hair blonde, lengthened it a bit…now you pass as my daughter."

Harry's eyes widened at that and a deep blush rushed up his neck and onto his cheekbones. "You-you what?" He sputtered, "I'm-I look-you made me a girl?!" He asked in a strangled whisper, trying not to attract attention while still expressing his horror.

Sirius was laughing out right by this point, and that only served to raise the teen's ire. "I'm sorry, but your face is priceless…" Sirius gasped, wiping his eyes.

Harry shot him a scathing look before sticking his nose in the air and marching away from the still chuckling moron he called a Godfather. After a few moments Sirius caught up and leaned down to whisper to Harry in a low voice.

"Put your hood up, Pup."

Harry nodded and did as instructed. He adopted a serious expression as he followed Sirius around a vacant building and into the shadows of the infamous Knockturn Alley. The shops were much thinner than in Diagon Alley, and stretched much taller. They seemed to lean ever so slightly in, towards the Alley, arching over to block out the sun and thrust the whole area into deep shadow.

The muted grey and black painted shop fronts only added to the darkness, along with the heavy cloaks and hoods that adorned everyone moving around the place. Harry stared around curiously as Sirius lead him farther into the Alley and noticed that, though at first glance the shop windows and surrounding walls seemed to be covered in filth, it was actually clusters of tiny painted runes.

"Pads?" Harry whispered, "What's with all the runes on the windows?"

Sirius glanced down at him and arched an eyebrow. "Hmmm, I guess we do have a lot of work to do this summer." Harry cocked his head in confusion at that but filed it away for later, he refocused as Sirius heaved a sigh and spoke again, "The runes are for protection, Pup. They prevent fires, flood damage, theft…that kind of thing."

"Oh," Harry frowned in thought, "Then why didn't I notice any on the shops in Diagon?"

"Well, for starters, Knockturn Alley is much older than Diagon. So some of the rune chains here were placed before newer, shorter ones were created." Sirius explained. He came to a stop in front of a small shabby looking shop not unlike most of the others in the Alley. "And maybe more importantly, the anti-theft and ward rune chains take much more space than other protective chains."

"Oh," Harry said, "I really need to look into runes, I wanted to take it last year but, well, with Ron…and the teachers…I just…." He trailed off and shrugged, shifting guiltily.

"I understand, Pup." Sirius put a hand on Harry shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze. "This summer we can get you trained up properly. Dumbles wont know what hit him."

Harry grinned up at his Godfather for a moment before shifting his attention to the shop behind him. "Is this were we get our new wands?"

"Yup, this is the place."

"How do you even know about this place anyway?" Harry asked, looking at Sirius curiously.

The old Marauder ran a hand through his hair and smiled slyly. "Well, that's a long story, Prongslet."

Harry rolled his eyes at his Godfather and put a hand on his hip. "What'd you do?"

"What?" Sirius yelped, "What makes you think it was my fault?" He looked down at Harry with a mock wounded look in his eyes before bursting into laughter. It attracted the attention of some cloaked passerby. "Okay, okay," Sirius said, lowering his voice and moving closer to Harry, "My charming mother broke my wand the summer before my fifth year," He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair again. Harry narrowed his eyes at the nervous tick. "My grandfather found out and brought me here to replace it. I never told anybody…"

Harry looked at his Godfather with knowing eyes and reached out to touch his arm gently, "It's okay, Pads. We have each other now, yeah?" He was glad to see the smile that this brought to Sirius' face, "Now, lets go get our new wands!"

With that Harry turned and opened the creaky door, stepping into the shop with determination.

ooOoo

Sirius watched his Godson step through the shop door with an absent smile but remained behind, lost in thought. His mind was still stuck on the memory of his first visit to this very shop and he frowned in thought as he recalled his Grandfather's words.

" _Come, Sirius." His Grandfather's voice was low and commanding, causing Sirius to hurry forward by the man's side. "We haven't much time but no Heir of mine will be left wandless."_

 _Sirius glanced up at his Grandfather wearily, he sounded angry but Sirius was uncertain whom the anger was directed at. "I-I'm sorry_ , _Grandfather…" Sirius stuttered, but his apology was cut off._

" _Nonsense," Arcturus Black stopped in the middle of Knockturn Alley and turned to face his teenaged Grandson and Heir. Sirius gazed up at the intimidating man with wide eyes. "You are a Black, Sirius. You are my Heir. Never apologize for something that you don't have to. Do you understand?"_

 _Sirius nodded shakily, but his Grandfather seemed unconvinced. "Your mother broke your wand out of spite, Sirius. I'm not angry with you for her failings; she will come to regret her actions. Learn from this, my Grandson, a true Black never regrets, and never apologizes for others."_

" _Thank you, sir." Sirius said, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I understand, I won't let you down."_

" _Good boy," Sirius would later swear he could see a slight smile on his Grandfather's usually stoic face, "Now, let us be off. Valgus Repping's time is something even_ _ **I**_ _dare not waste."_

Sirius shivered and pulled himself back into the present. His grandfather was right, Repping, the owner of this particular wand shop, was not one to be trifled with, so with one last glance around the almost deserted alley he stepped through the door after his godson.

"Good afternoon," A cold voice called, Sirius and Harry, who it seemed had been staring curiously at some of the more interesting paintings lining the wall, turned as one to see a tall, thin man step into the room from a dark doorway behind the cash counter. Sirius recognized Valgus Repping's shrewd brown eyes and although the man's age was beginning to show in the thinning of his dark hair and the lines forming around his eyes and mouth, the man's disposition was as cold and controlled as ever. "Welcome to my establishment."

"Thank you, sir." Sirius said graciously, he put a restraining hand on Harry's shoulder to keep the boy quiet. He noticed his godson looking at him in confusion and gave a small shake of his head. "As you may have guessed, we are here to acquire new wands."

"Replacements then?" Repping asked, one eyebrow raised. Sirius forced away the urge to shiver that the man's deep cold tone gave him.

"One replacement, and one…" Sirius glanced down at his godson again and allowed a small smirk, "Spare."

"I see," Sirius forced himself to remain still as the unnerving man turned his calculating gaze on Harry, even though every instinct he had was screaming at him to push his Pup behind him, to protect him. "You seek…discretion. Well I dare say you have come to the right place for _that_."

Sirius shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what to say to that. "Yes, well…" he trailed off uncertainly, pulling Harry closer to him as Repping came out from behind the counter.

" _T'will_ cost you extra, however." Repping raised a dark eyebrow and smirked, causing goose-pimples to erupt on Sirius' arms, he could feel Harry trembling slightly under his hand.

His grandfathers voice floated through his mind as he struggled to figure out the hidden meaning in the man's oddly emphasized statement. _Play the game, Sirius. There is a time to be blunt, and a time to choose your words with care, remember that and you will win._

"Of course, Mr. Repping," Sirius said, a spark of understanding flitting through him. He smirked back at the man and raised his own eyebrow, forcing his nerves back and showing nothing but calm confidence in his body language. "Although, t'is quite amusing to pay _more_ for _less_ , don't you agree?"

Repping's smirk grew and his cold eyes seemed to reevaluate Sirius for a moment before he replied carefully, "Amusing indeed, sir. Though, t'is the way of things, I'm afraid."

"Yes, of course," Sirius said, waving a hand as if brushing the issue away. Harry seemed to be following the conversation with a look of concentration and his head slightly cocked. He wondered if the boy understood that Sirius was subtly telling Repping that he wanted the man to leave the Trace off of Harry's new wand and that he was willing to pay extra for the man to look the other way.

Sirius had to hide another smirk, if so the boy would undoubtedly be better at this sort of word play than him with some training. "It is expected after all, such…discretion, is a _valuable_ commodity and should be treated as such."

At that Repping seemed to relax slightly. He moved back behind the counter and began to pull strange looking objects out from underneath, "I am indeed pleased that you feel that way, Mr…" He trailed off and looked at Sirius expectantly.

"Menheim. Nelson Menheim, Mr. Repping." Sirius said, without missing a beat. Repping raised an eyebrow at him but chose not to comment, instead he simply nodded and turned to Harry.

"And your name, young…miss?" Repping asked, smirking at the end, as if he knew some secret.

"This is my niece, Joanna." Sirius said, with a meaningful glance at his godson.

Harry ducked his head in a quick nod of acknowledgment, though Sirius didn't miss the unhappy twist of the boy's lips.

"Very good, sir." Repping said, a slight smirk twitched on his lips but the man seemed to have enough sense to hide it quickly. "Shall we begin? I need a reading of your magical signatures." He motioned for Harry to step closer to the counter.

"Our magical signatures, sir?" Sirius hid a chuckle at the curiosity in his godson's voice. The boy was like a sponge for knowledge.

"Yes, indeed, young…miss." Repping replied, hesitating slightly over the title. Sirius narrowed his eyes at the man's slip and stepped closer to Harry. "I use the readings to better match the materials with the client's needs." The shop owner continued as he bent behind the counter and retrieved a large crystalline stone, which he placed carefully before Harry, along side the chisel set he had pulled out earlier. "Each person's magic is specific to them, just like fingerprints, therefore it interacts uniquely with different materials."

"Oh," Harry said, understanding shining in his eyes. Both Sirius and Harry watched closely as Repping grasped the chisel and hammer and began to chip away at a piece of the large crystal. "So this rock helps you read someone's magical signature?"

"Not quite, this merely allows me to record my readings. I use a spell, placed on the crystal fragment, to actually collect the data." Repping explained as a small cube-like chunk of the crystal detached and landed with a clink on the counter top. He moved on to another section of the crystal and began the process over again.

After a few moments of silence, broken only by the clinking of Repping's chisel, a second piece of crystal broke off and landed next to the first. Repping hurried to clear away his tools and the stone before retrieving his wand from the sleeve of his robes and waving it in a fluid motion over the two crystal pieces. A long chain of Latin caused a flash of white light to engulf the crystals.

"There we are," Repping said, a cold smile on his face. He looked up at Harry and gestured at the crystal closest to him. "Go on then, pick it up. That's it, now try and push a little of your magic out and touch the stone with it."

Sirius watched curiously, wondering how Harry would fare with this task. He remembered trying to do this when his Grandfather brought him, it had been nearly impossible, and he had only managed it after a good fifteen minutes of effort. To his immense surprise, however, Harry's magic started to shimmer in the air around him after only a few seconds.

"That's it," Repping said, Sirius could tell the man was trying to hide his own surprise as well. "Now push it out towards the crystal."

Harry nodded his head and stared at the stone in his hand, his magic seemed to writhe around him as if restless, but didn't move any farther away from the boy's body. A frown formed on Harry's face and he seemed to be pushing his magic as hard as he could, Sirius leaned forward anxiously.

"That's it, a little more now," Repping encouraged, "It's the same as pushing your magic through a wand…"

Both men watched in awe as a look of comprehension came over Harry's face and a gentle breeze ruffled the air, the magic swirling around him seemed to settle down. Sirius cocked his head curiously but before he could open his mouth to comment he notice a slight shimmer around Harry's hand that was holding the crystal. The shimmer seemed to hesitate before merging into the rock, causing it to glow with a deep golden light.

Both men looked at the panting teen in front of them in awe for a few moments before Repping broke the silence.

"Excellent, I've never had one so young catch on so fast!" Repping was smiling widely and bouncing on his heels as he marveled over the glowing crystal. "Well done, young ma-err, young lady. Well done, indeed."

Sirius shot a sharp look towards the store owner, but the man avoided eye contact in favor of conjuring a box in which to place Harry's crystal.

"Your turn S-err, Uncle?" Harry said brightly, waggling his eyebrows at Sirius. The old Marauder rolled his eyes but stepped forward with a chuckle. His Pup was a contradiction, but one he was hopefully on his way to unraveling.

ooOoo

Harry fell out of the floo and groaned as his face made contact with the floor. Shopping bags littered the floor haphazardly from his flailing fall and his cheeks flamed as he heard the floo flare again heralding Sirius' arrival.

"Wow, you really are terrible at floo travel." Sirius chuckled as he carefully stepped over his godson and picked his way through the scattered shopping bags. Once he had laid down his own burden he turned back to offer Harry a hand up.

Harry took the offered hand gratefully as he straightened his glasses. "Thanks,"

The two had spent the better part of three hours shopping down both Diagon and Knockturn Alley's as well as a quick jot out into muggle London for some clothes to supplement Harry's shabby wardrobe.

"Lets go put these away, Pup, then we can eat."

Harry grinned as his godfather bounded up the stairs ahead of him and started enthusiastically sorting through Harry's new things. It had only been one day since Sirius had taken him from Privet Drive and he was already starting to feel comfortable here with Sirius.

Shaking himself out of this thoughts, Harry went to help Sirius unpack the many, many bags of clothes.

ooOoo

Harry jolted awake, sweating from a nightmare he couldn't remember. Shaking off the prickling feeling, he blinked in the morning sunlight that was streaming through his window. The clock on the wall read six a.m.

 _I wonder if Sirius is awake yet…_ Harry shrugged and began to ready himself for the day, aware that trying to get back to sleep after a nightmare was futile.

Once dressed he padded his way down the stairs towards the kitchen, but as he approached the door soft voices pulled him up short. Harry hesitated before leaning in to listen to the conversation.

"-know, but please Jasper. I know what I saw, and after what happened at the wand shop? No, somethings, well not _wrong_ , but definitely not normal here." _Sirius is talking to Healer Karten?_ Harry cocked his head and leaned in a little closer to hear what the healer had to say.

"Alright, fine. I'll ask Mayble to come with me when I come back for the eye sight potion. But you owe me."

"Thank you, Jasper. Thats all I'm asking." _Are they talking about me? What has Sirius so worried?_

Harry was broken out of his revere by the sound of Sirius' goodbyes. He quickly, and silently scurried back up the stairs and waited a few moments before loudly making his way back down to the kitchen.

"Morning, Pup!" Sirius exclaimed, looking up from a copy of the Daily Prophet when Harry opened the door. "You're up early this morning!"

"Yeah, I had a bad dream," Harry rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably, mussing his already messy hair further. "I don't really remember what it was about but," he shivered at the memory of the prickling sensation.

"I'm sorry," Sirius said, a frown on his face, "Want a cuppa while the elves make breakfast? It should help settle your nerves."

Harry gratefully excepted the steaming cup of tea as he sank into a chair across from Sirius. "Thanks, it wasn't too terrible, just…unsettling."

Sirius made a sympathetic face before returning his attention to the newspaper. "Hmmm, nothing terribly interesting today. A witch named Loris Durbly has won a trip to Spain…oh and Fudge is garnering some publicity by riding Lucius Malfoy's coat tails, socially speaking that is…no surprise there…"

Harry snorted at that and reached across to snag the sports section that Sirius had already finished. "Yeah, I met the man once last year, when I ran away from the Dursleys'," Harry shrugged, " He seemed like a real tosser, trying to stay in the Boy-Who-Lived's good graces." Harry rolled his eyes. "And then I saw him for a moment at Hogwarts when me and 'Mione helped spring you, he was blustering on about you being a menace, and wouldn't hear a word otherwise."

"Doesn't surprise me," Sirius said, "He is a peace-time Minister if I ever saw one, all about pandering and keeping the people happy. Wouldn't know how to deal with a crisis to save his life."

As they were talking Dobby popped in with a couple of plates heaped with eggs and bacon rashers, Kreacher was right behind him with a platter of toast and a pitcher of pumpkin juice.

"Dobby bes ready with his first report, Master Harry Potter, Sir!" Dobby squeaked excitedly. Kreacher scowled at the bouncing elf and crossed his arms.

"Okay, how's he been Dobby?" Harry asked with an amused glance towards Sirius.

"Kreacher bes mumbling nasty things about Master Harry Potter, Sir. But Dobby bes defending his Master, he does!" The little elf's chest puffed out with pride, his huge eyes gleaming.

Harry rolled his eyes with a fond smile, "Thank you, Dobby."

Sirius chuckled and patted Dobby's head, "Quite the loyal one aren't you? But really there is no need, Kreacher can be as hateful and nasty as he wants…" He peered over at the ugly old elf before continuing, "As long as he does not do so within earshot of his Master, or my guests."

Kreacher shifted, glaring at the floor for a moment before meeting Sirius' eyes, a determined look on his wrinkled face. "Of course, Master. Kreacher would never dishonor the House of Black."

Sirius narrowed his eyes at the elf for a second before nodding and retreating back behind the Daily Prophet. The two elves took that as their cue to leave and popped away.

Harry and Sirius sat in silence, each reading their own sections of the news paper for a time, nibbling on their breakfasts. After finishing with the sports section, Harry let his mind wonder for a bit, thinking over the conversation he had eavesdropped on previously.

 _Go on, then. Ask him, it's not like he'll go spare…_ Harry frowned at that thought, _He wouldn't, right? But how would I feel if he eavesdropped on me? No, he'll understand, especially if I'm honest with him…_

After a few moments Harry nodded resolutely and turned his gaze to his still reading godfather.

"Sirius?" Harry asked, nervously twisting his fingers together under the table. His godfather lowered the paper slightly and met Harry's eyes over the top of it, quirking an eyebrow in question.

"I-I, well, that is to say-" Harry stammered before losing his nerve. "I was just wondering what you meant yesterday when you said we had a lot of work to do this summer?"

 _Gods but you are such a coward!_ Harry thought furiously, but a small, weak part of him still cringed at the idea that Sirius would realize what a _burden_ he was and send him away.

Sirius smiled widely, "I'm glad you should ask, Pup!" Harry cocked his head at the mischievous glint in Sirius' eyes. "I'm going to cram as much knowledge into that little head of yours as I possibly can this summer!"

Harry perked up at that. "Really? Brilliant! What all are you going to teach me?"

Sirius smiled and ruffled Harry's hair. "Well I had thought I was going to have to cover the first three years of Hogwarts curriculum to make sure you had it all down, but now that I know you've been throwing your grades…"

Harry ducked his head, shame heating his cheeks.

"It's okay, Pup." Sirius said, giving Harry's shoulder a squeeze. "I get it, I'm not mad at you, quite the opposite." Harry looked back up at his godfather hopefully, "Now we can start on more difficult subjects. I know you said you wanted to look into Ancient Runes, and coupling that with Arithmancy can be wicked useful…" Sirius trailed off, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Do you think we could look into accidental magic a bit too, Padfoot?" Harry asked suddenly. At Sirius' inquiring look he elaborated, "I just want to know more about the possibilities, everything I've read about wandless magic at Hogwarts says it's dreadfully hard to master but isn't accidental magic technically wandless magic?"

Sirius smiled at his godson for a moment, pride shining on his face. "You are one smart kid, Pup. That was another topic I wanted to touch on this summer, but I was going to wait to get more into the theory until you were a bit older. But since you are already on the right track, and obviously interested, we could go ahead and work on that this summer."

"Yes!" Harry pumped his fist in the air and grinned at his godfather. "Is there anything you think is particularly important for me to learn right away?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah." Sirius said, once again rubbing his chin. "But we might need some outside help with it…I want you to learn Occlumency as soon as possible. You will need at least basic shields before school starts…"

"Occlumency?" Harry asked, frowning. "I've never heard of it."

"It's a branch of the Mind Arts. Occlumency is the art of mental defense and organization. It's sister subject, Legilimency, is the art of mental invasion and expansion."

"Occlumency and Legilimency…" Harry mused, thinking furiously. "They sound useful. Let me guess, Dumbles is a master of both?"

Sirius grinned, "Right you are, Prongslet. And he doesn't seem to have any compunctions about using Legilimency on whomever he likes." Sirius rolled his eyes. "Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure Snape has some skill at them too, I mean if he was spying on Voldy he would have to be able to hide his thoughts well, right?"

Harry frowned, a thought niggling at the back of his mind. A swell of de-ja-vu broke over him, the same feeling he had brushed aside in Rockclaw's office. He cocked his head and frowned in concentration, trying to grasp the memory that was trying to surface, but it was like trying to catch smoke with his bare hands.

Harry shook his head and refocused on his godfather. "That does make sense. But, ug, the thought of Snape poking about in my brain…" Both shuddered at the thought.

"Well, we'll have to make Occlumency, at the very least, a priority. Learning to clear and close your mind shouldn't be too big of an issue. I can teach you the basics, it's testing your shields later that'll be the problem."

"Why?" Harry asked, cocking his head as he scooped another bite of eggs into his mouth. _Those little elves really can cook…_ Harry thought.

"I never could get the hang of extending my mind beyond my shields." Sirius said with a rueful smile. "My mother was the one teaching me though, so I developed extremely thick shields as quickly as I could. With the Mind Arts there needs to be a balance."

"Hmmm…that does make sense, basically if you fortify your mind too much you're barricading yourself in…" Harry mused, a hungry glint entering his eyes. "It sounds fascinating, I would love to know more. Please tell me you have books on this?"

"Of course, I think there's a whole shelf on the Mind Arts in the Black Library." Sirius chuckled at Harry's enthusiasm.

"Good, well I'll just be off then…" Harry said, moving to stand from the table, but Sirius' hand on his shoulder stilled the movement.

"Well, far be it from me to stand in you're way of knowledge, but there are a few things that we need to do before I can let you disappear into the library." Sirius laughed at the withering look his godson sent him before he settled back into his seat.

"What's first, then?" Harry asked, a little bit of excitement creeping into his voice despite himself.

"First, you need to drink this." Sirius said, reaching into his pocket and fishing out a small potion bottle.

Harry looked at the brown liquid in distaste before uncorking and necking it as quickly as possible. "Ugh! That's the most vile thing I've ever tasted!" Harry shuddered and took a large gulp of his cold tea, swishing it around to try and get rid of the foul aftertaste. "It's like carrots and beans and…" Harry shook his head searching for the right word. "And farts!"

Sirius had fallen off his chair laughing at the look on his godson's face. Harry scowled down at the howling man before crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair with a huff.

"Oh…y-your face!" Sirius gasped, finally catching his breath. Harry rolled his eyes and kicked Sirius' chair away from him as the man reached for it. "Oi! Well that's just rude!"

Harry couldn't help but laugh at the look of indignation on his godfather's face. "Yeah, well you deserved it," He said with a smirk. "Now, what else do I need to do before I can go to the library?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow as he watched Sirius pull his chair back to the table and flop down on it. The smile on his godfather's face caused a sense of dread to well up in Harry's stomach.

"Oh, Pup, didn't I tell you?" Sirius smirked at his now wary godson, "Did you think I bought you all of those athletic clothes for you to sleep in?" The sinking feeling in Harry's stomach strengthened a the the gleam in Sirius' eyes. "Oh no, I think we'll start with a mile run, eh? Then we can begin your weight training…"

ooOoo

"Just….send me…back to…the Dursleys'…now." Harry gasped for breath, he was sprawled out on the sitting room floor and had no plans of moving in the near future. "That…was bloody… _awful_."

"I…used to…run three miles…every morning…" Sirius' voice gasped back from off to Harry's right.

"Oh…come…off it." Harry retorted, his breathing coming slightly easier now that he was horizontal. "You're just…as winded…as I am."

"Well, twelve years…in Azkaban wasn't…exactly a health…retreat." Sirius grumbled.

"Yeah…well you at least…had four legs…to run on," Harry snarked causing Sirius to chuckle.

After a few minutes so they both could catch their breath, Sirius spoke again; "Right, time for cool down stretches."

Harry groaned but dutifully rolled onto his front and pushed himself up from the floor. "Alright, alright," he grumbled, grimacing at the feeling of his sweat soaked shirt cooling on his skin.

"I think we'll put off weights until after lunch." Sirius mused as he lead them through some easy stretches. At Harry's hopeful look he continued, "Yes that means library time. But we'll be starting on Arithmancy and Runes. We will save Occlumency until just before bed, you can read some on the subject after dinner, eh?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically, "Finally! Thank you!"

"Alright, shower time. You stink, Prongslet." Sirius said, theatrically holding his nose and turning his head. "I'll meet you in the library in twenty minutes." He had to call the last bit in to the hall because Harry was already half way up the stairs.

Harry all but dove into the shower and was clean and dressed in record time. He made his way to the library and any thought of waiting for Sirius flew out of his head at the sight that greeted him. Shelves upon shelves of books, it put the Hogwarts library to shame and had Harry salivating.

He got right to work finding book after book of interesting spells and facts, until he couldn't see over the tops of the piles he had created, then he set to work memorizing every word of every page.

"Right, well I think we need to draw up a schedule for you," Sirius said, plopping down across from him.

Harry's head snapped up and he gazed wide eyed at his Godfather. "I-I didn't hear you come in," he finally mumbled sheepishly.

"Hmmm…looks like we need to add stealth and situational awareness to your training list…" Sirius said, chuckling slightly. "I can see you've already made a start on…every subject offered at Hogwarts…nice."

Harry blushed at the slight criticism and ribbing. "Yeah, well I like to learn."

"Nothing wrong with that," Sirius said before pulling a clean sheet of parchment and quill out. "Now, we do need to set up a schedule, as awesome as it is that you can memorize books, rote memorization is nothing compared to learning from a teacher."

"And I s'pose you're going to be my teacher then?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow incredulously.

"For most of it, yeah." Sirius replied, "But I will have to call in some help for the subjects I'm rubbish at. Like Legilimency."

"Well, what will you be teaching me then?" Harry asked, peering over at the parchment Sirius was now scribbling on.

"I figured we would begin with the core subjects, this summer we should be able to get you trained up to at least past your OWLs, maybe even into your NEWTs. Then out side of that I could get you at least through your fourth year Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, not much we can do for Care of Magical Creatures or Herbology…and then I can give you some stealth and 'cloak and dagger' training." Sirius waggled his eyebrows at Harry, causing the teen to roll his eyes.

"And the subjects you can't teach?" Harry asked.

"Ah, the Mind arts and Healing." Sirius said, "I still have a couple friends out there, "I'm sure Jasper would be willing to help with the Healing, and…well I have a friend that, if she agrees to help, will be able to make you a Master in the Mind Arts."

"Right," Harry nodded, "Well, we should get started then,"

"Too right, Pup," Sirius said, a grin spreading across his face, "Too right."

ooOoo

That night Harry flopped onto his bed with a huge smile on his face. His summer with Sirius was setting up to be the single best summer of his entire life and he was feeling giddy with happiness.

 _I wish I could have grown up with Sirius…_

Harry sat upright and shook his head, trying to rid himself of such wistful thoughts. He didn't need to go spoiling everything with such stupid dreams. He paced over to the full length mirror hanging behind the door.

 _Shove off, Potter, you silly git. Just be thankful for what you have._

"This is enough," He said to his reflection, "It has to be enough."

Shaking his head again he started his nightly ritual, trying to regain his good cheer. Giving it up as a bad job he rolled under the covers and drifted off to a fitful sleep, plagued with dreams of a warm, happy home just on the other side of an unclimbable fence.

ooOoo

"Alright, Prongslet. No training today, Jasper's coming over with the eyesight correction potion," Sirius said as they settled into chairs at the breakfast table.

A week's worth of decent meals, nutrient potions and fitness training had done Harry a world of good. His skin had lost it's sickly pale pallor, he wasn't quite tan, but his white skin had a more healthy glow, and his gaunt frame was starting to fill out with some wiry muscle. Harry was reminded daily that magic was an amazing thing.

"Healer Karten? I forgot he was due back today," Harry said, shaking his head. Dobby took that moment to pop in with his breakfast and launched into his morning report on Kreacher's behavior.

"Dobby bes watching Kreacher yesterday for Master Harry Potter, sir!" The small elf was vibrating with excitement as usual, "He bes doing much better yesterday, he does!"

Harry took the opportunity, while the elves where bickering over Kreacher's performance as always, to grab his daily nutrient potion and, without giving himself a chance to chicken out, necked it. He shuddered violently at the foul tasted and grabbed his cup of tea to scald the after bite from his tongue. Finally recovered he refocused on the tale end of the conversation.

"Of course, Kreacher lives to serve the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black…" Kreacher said, popping in and bowing low to Sirius, causing the man to roll his eyes and Dobby to send a knowing look at the Black Lord. Interacting with Dobby on a daily basis seemed to be helping Kreacher more than any of them had expected.

"Yes, yes, thank you Kreacher." Sirius huffed, waving his hand as if shooing a fly.

Kreacher gave another deep bow and popped away, presumably to do the breakfast clean up. Dobby popped away with him.

"Anyway, Jasper will be bringing another old friend with him today. She is a healer as well and I want her to have a first hand look at that scar of yours," Sirius glanced up at his forehead with a worried frown.

"Right, Mayble," Harry mumbled around a bite of egg, nodding his head. He realized his mistake a second later when Sirius looked up at him sharply.

"How do you know that?" Harry winced at the anger in his Godfather's voice.

"I-I'm sorry," Harry stuttered. "I didn't mean to…I mean I just over heard your firecall and…I didn't want you to be mad so I didn't say anything…" He trailed off, hanging his head and twisting his fingers, braced for the explosion.

"Oh, Pup…" Sirius sighed, causing Harry to jerk his head up in surprise. He'd been expecting anger, not the tired look of disappointment on his Godfather's face. Sirius ran a hand across his eyes before pinning Harry with a stern look. Harry gulped.

"I-I'm sorry…" Harry said again, his voice quiet and shaky.

"I s'pose you are still only thirteen, I keep forgetting how young you really are…" Sirius said, ignoring Harry's apology. Harry's brow furrowed in confusion and opened his mouth only to be cut off. "It's okay, Harry. I'm not mad, and I wouldn't have been if you had just told me when it happened."

Harry shook his head, "But, Sirius, I-"

"No," Sirius stood and came around to Harry's side of the table, scooping him up into a tight hug. "Really, I get it. I understand the impulse to listen to whispered conversations, the need to know what they are saying, especially if it concerns you. It's a defense mechanism. It's only natural, and honestly a good thing going forward."

Harry relaxed into his Godfather's embrace, stunned. "R-really?"

"Yes, you silly git. But please, in the future just come to me if you're concerned, or confused. I want us to at least be able to trust each other," Once again Harry opened his mouth, this time to hastily reassure the man that he did trust him, but Sirius didn't let him speak. "No, don't. I know you want to trust me, but I also know that it will take time to build that trust. Don't worry, we'll get there, and this is a step along the way."

"Well, well, Sirius Black being mature…" A woman's snide voice sounded from the door way, jarring the two out of their embrace. "I never thought I would live to see the day…"

Both Sirius and Harry were up, their wands drawn, before the woman had finished speaking. A tall, wide woman stood in the doorway, her chocolate eyes sparkling with laughter. She had long curly blonde hair with all the colors of the rainbow spiraling through it hanging over her left shoulder all the way down to her considerable waist, while short, straight, spikey bangs swooped across her forehead, partially obscuring her left eye.

She laughed at them, her voice light but still slightly mocking. "Whoa, Sirius, mate, it's just us," Harry then noticed Healer Karten behind her right shoulder, hovering with a smirk on his face. Harry refocused on the mystery woman, he could only assume this was Mayble, and noticed that she was wearing Muggle clothes.

Light, bleach washed jeans hugged her curves, rips on her knees showing slivers of pale skin, while a tight, black v-neck t-shirt accentuated her large bust. A loose green and white plaid shirt hung carelessly from her right shoulder and pooled around her left elbow, as she planted her hands on her canted hips.

"Merlin, Mayble," Sirius breathed, letting his wand arm drop to his side. Harry copied his motions but kept his body tense, his eyes flicking between the adults cautiously. "What is it with you people and waltzing into my home unannounced?"

Mayble laughed again and strode into the room to grab Sirius in a tight hug, causing Harry to tense further and shift away slightly. Out of the coroner of his eye he saw Healer Karten frown as the man caught his movements and internally grimaced at being so transparently weak. "It really has been too long, Siri!" Mayble said, her voice sincere.

"I know, I'm sorry." Sirius said, returning the woman's hug. "Chasing Peter was the single stupidest decision of my life, but I'm doing my best to make up for it. Starting with my Godson, here." He turned towards Harry, a smile on his face. "Harry, this is Healer Mayble Shancomb, another old friend from Hogwarts. Mayble, this is my Godson, Harry Potter."

"Harry! Oh, you've grown up since the last time I saw you!" Mayble beamed at him and moved to engulf him in a hug as well, causing Harry to flinch back much to his mortification. Everyone in the room seemed to freeze and a flush crept up Harry's neck, his face burning with shame and embarrassment.

"S-sorry, I-I-" Harry stuttered, grasping for something to say that would wipe the looks of sadness and pity from the faces around him. Finally Sirius seemed to shake himself and came to his rescue.

"Sorry Mayble, Harry's just a bit jumpy until he gets his morning caffeine fix," Sirius laughed lightly and tugged Harry into his side, wrapping a protective arm around his shoulders. "I distracted him this morning and he never got his cuppa, why don't we all sit and have some tea before moving on to the examinations?"

The two newcomers happily agreed and settled themselves into seats around the table, Harry threw a grateful look at his Godfather before settling into a seat himself.

ooOoo

Sirius glanced across the table at his Godson. The boy was still tense and quiet as he sipped his tea. It bothered him, how jumpy the young man was around strangers, and even around him if caught unawares.

 _Damn those Muggles,_ Sirius thought furiously. _And damn Dumbledore for dumping my Pup there._

Shaking himself back into the present Sirius refocused on his two friends. Jasper and Mayble had been his and James' 'secret' friends at Hogwarts. Neither Remus nor Peter had known about them, Peter because he couldn't keep a secret and Remus because they had all agreed he needed plausible deniability should they get caught for something.

Sirius was really patting himself on the back now for his idea to keep Remus out of the loop, even after Hogwarts. With the war going on and Remus' werewolf problem putting him under suspicion it just seemed like a good idea to keep their friendship with the two brainiacs a secret. Almost an 'ace in the hole' as it were.

"I was in Slytherin, myself, at Hogwarts." Mayble said, a note of pride in her voice. Sirius looked over at Harry, gauging his reaction.

"Really?" Harry asked, his eyes wide. He leaned forward, seeming to forget his discomfort for the moment. "I thought Slytherin House was all about Blood Purity…"

"Oh it was, and still is as far as I've heard…" Mayble said, shaking her head. "Load of tosh if you ask me though. 'Snot only Purebloods who can be cunning or ambitious."

"Wait, so you _are_ a Muggleborn?" Harry asked. Sirius couldn't help but snicker at that.

"Oh, don't let the Muggle clothes fool you, Pup. No Mayble here is as pure as they come," He said grandly waving his arm towards the woman in question. "The Shancombs date back hundreds of years, almost as long as the Potters or Blacks, though not as noble."

Mayble threw him an icy glare before refocusing on Harry. "He's right, my family was one of the few Pureblood lines that was never ennobled." She shrugged, "So I fit in for the most part in Slytherin, about as much as any Half-blood from an noble house would. But my family never really bought into You-Know-Who's shite, so in my seventh year, when the war started really ramping up, and He started to recruit the old families, my family tried to leave Britain."

"Tried?" Harry asked, a worried frown on his face. "They didn't make it?"

"My parents didn't." Mayble said, Sirius reached across the table and squeezed her hand. He knew how hard it was for her to talk about her loss. "I have an Uncle and a couple of Aunts that made it out, we stay in touch, but my mum and dad…" She shook her head sadly.

"Did Voldemort…?" Harry trailed off and started chewing his bottom lip and twisting his fingers in his lap, a habit Sirius had notice the boy developed when he was nervous.

"Some Death Eaters killed my dad in a raid on Diagon a week or so before we had planned on leaving. My mum was heartbroken, I was broken up as well, but mum…" Mayble swallowed heavily. "She was devastated, and angry. She sent me to the continent with my Uncle Terrence. Said that she had a few more things she needed to do before she could meet us there."

Sirius was watching Harry, he had already heard all of this, having been there for Mayble just after it happened. But he was worried about how his Godson would react to the next part of the story. The young wizard in question seemed to be engrossed, leaning forward in his chair and gripping his tea cup tightly.

"She never did though," Mayble went on after taking a second to collect herself. "She went 'round the twist, or so they said. Started blasting Death Eater's heads clean off, but our Great and Virtuous Leader of the Light, Albus bloody Dumbledore just couldn't condone such 'senseless violence' and pushed the Wizengammot into issuing a warrant for her arrest."

Harry sucked in a breath at that, his eyes impossibly wide. Sirius reached across the table and took the delicate china from the boy's white knuckled grip and replaced it with his own hand. Harry shot him a grateful look before refocusing his gaze on Mayble.

"It was about that time that ol' Barty Crouch took office, though, and his first act of business was to authorize Aurors the use of the Unforgivables. She was killed within hours of her arrest warrant being issued." A tear slid down Mayble's cheek. Jasper, who had been holding her left hand throughout the tale, pressed a handkerchief into her free hand.

ooOoo

Harry's head was whirling. anger and sadness swirled through him for the woman in front of him. He gripped his Godfather's hand tighter as realization washed over him. Until this moment it hadn't dawned on him that Dumbledore's machinations would have affected other people, other lives. He sneered at his own naivety and self-centeredness while simultaneously shuddering at the damage Dumbledore was causing to the Wizarding Community.

"Thank you for telling me that," He whispered, breaking the silence that had fallen and dropping Sirius' hand. The man was watching him in concern but he ignored him in favor of trying to organize his words, "I didn't realize, I mean I'd never thought…" He shook his head and gestured vaguely, hoping she would understand what he meant.

"It's alright," Mayble said. She cleared her throat and wiped Healer Karten's handkerchief across her eyes. "I know, that's why I told you. So you could not only better understand me, but better understand all sides of the war you helped end." She smiled crookedly at him when he rolled his eyes at that.

"I did have one question though," Harry said, cocking his head and smiling lightly back. She nodded in encouragement. "If you're a Pureblood, how did you learn to dress as a Muggle so well?"

To his surprise all three adults burst out laughing. Sirius caught his breath first and smirked at Harry's flushed face. "Sorry, Pup. It's just a funny memory is all," he said, wiping tears of laughter from his face.

"Oh, I haven't thought of that day in years," Healer Karten gasped, holding his stomach as he tried to catch his breath.

Mayble's face was flushed a deep red, but she was laughing along with the men, "Ug, I try not to think of it at all, if I can help it…"

Harry cocked his head in confusion, an amused smile tugging at his lips. He waited a few moments for them to settle down before demanding an answer. "Come on, if it's that funny you have to spill."

"Alright, alright," Mayble said, glaring at Sirius and Karten's smirks. "It was your mum who taught me, actually."

"My mum?" Harry asked, leaning even closer. He wanted to hear everything about his mother, no one ever seemed to want to talk about her outside of saying what a brilliant witch she was.

"Yep, James couldn't keep a thing from her," Mayble said fondly, her eyes alight with laughter. "She had him wrapped around her finger good and tight. So he introduced us all a few weeks after they officially got together. And she and I hit it off right away."

"Oh yeah, if you call raging fights over Muggle rock bands hitting it off," Sirius snickered. Mayble slapped him upside his head before continuing.

"We were both opinionated and headstrong. And obsessed with rock music, just not the same bands. But I loved her for teaching me about the Muggle World. Even though my family didn't buy into the Pureblood rubbish, we still didn't venture out into Muggle England, too different and scary and _fast,_ for old-fashioned Purebloods."

"I bet," Harry said, snickering as he imagined Lucius Malfoy trying to navigate Muggle London.

"She decided that I needed a crash course in Muggle culture just after we graduated." Mayble said with a smirk at Harry's obvious amusement. "She said that one never knew when the ability to blend in would come in handy,"

"You corrupted her Gryffindor purity with your Slytherin tendencies," Sirius interjected with a snort causing Mayble to do the mauture thing and stick her tongue out at him. Harry's eyes widened at the metal bar capped on either end by small black spheres that seemed to be pierced through the pink appendage.

 _Bloody hell..._ Harry thought as Sirius and Mayble began bickering back and forth over who was the worse influence on his mum. _That's so...wicked..._ He was broken out of his fascinated staring, he was trying to catch a glimpse of the jewelry as Mayble spoke, by Healer Karten nudging his shoulder.

He jumped and immediately tensed when he noticed the Healer was leaning across the table to get his attention without interrupting the other two's childish argument. "Sorry Harry," Karten said, having noticed his slight distress.

"Oh, no, sorry," Harry mumbled, red faced at being caught staring, and being caught out yet again by the observant man.

"She got it in Muggle London, the tongue piercing," Karten said with a knowing look at the flustered youth. "Then healed it with a spell. She engraves runes on the bar that help her detect potions in her drinks and food. Paranoid, she is." He shook his head fondly.

Harry cocked his head, more intrigued by the idea than he wanted to let on. _Hmm...something to consider, especially with Dumblefuck's pet Death Eater a potions master..._

"Anyway," Mayble said loudly, drawing Harry's attention back from his musings. She was turned away from a rather red faced and scowling Sirius. "She thought I could do with a crash course in Muggle culture so she kidnapped me, right out of my family home, mind you, and took me with her for a two week 'vacation' to her family's." Harry could practically hear the air quotes around the word vacation and had to hid a snicker.

"She made me do everything the Muggle way, even cooking and clean up," she shuddered, causing the others to laugh. "My family always had House Elves," she said, defensively crossing her arms.

"So if it was so awful, why do you dress like this now?" Harry asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

Mayble shot him a sly smirk, "Because of the 'Incident.'" Harry raised an eyebrow at her ominous tone. "Lily thought it would be a great laugh to take me to a Muggle department store, Harrod's, and leave me there. Alone. For six bloody hours."

Harry couldn't help but laugh at that, the mental image of a Draco Malfoy, though he supposed Mayble would have been more fearful and less contemptuous, stranded in the middle of Harrod's sending him into fits.

"The first couple hours I was just wandering around, wide eyed and scared, looking for the bloody exit. Then I found it. One look at the cars, though at the time I would have called them horseless carriages, in the extensive car park and I turned right around and went back inside to wait for Lily to come 'back' for me." Mayble rolled her eyes and tossed her long hair over her shoulder causing the swirls of color to catch in the low lighting. "She was there the whole time the sneaky bint. Under James' bloody cloak."

"I seem to remember her mentioning some tears during those first couple hours..." Karten smirked at the scowl Mayble shot his way. "She told me she very nearly had to end the whole thing early because of all the attention you were attracting with your hysterics..."

"Yeah, yeah, well around hour three I stopped panicking long enough to notice all of the clothes around me. They seemed to _scandalous_ to me at the time, coming from a proper wizarding family were I was trained to always were robes with dresses or skirts, the idea of women weren't men's pants, let alone pants that were made _for_ women...and don't even get me started on how spectacularly new and _brilliant_ the idea of a crop top was..."

Harry rolled his eyes at the looks of mildly disgusted boredom on his Godfather's and Healer Karten's faces. He wasn't as interested in Muggle fashion as Mayble obviously was, but it was interesting to hear what about the Muggle world drew in someone who had grown up with _magic._

"And Lily let me wander like that, drooling over all of the different jeans and shirts, for hours. She was laughing it up to herself, watching me circle the same five racks for hours, I hadn't even ventured far enough to find the shoe section! But that was the day I truly became obsessed with the Muggle world." Mayble beamed at him in a way that made him sure she was seeing the hints of his mum in his face, instead of only noticing his resemblance to James Potter. It made him duck his head, a blush spreading across his face for what seemed like the thousandth time that morning.

 _Jeeze what is it with these people and putting me on edge today..._ Harry grumbled to himself, sinking lower into his seat.

"Well, as amusing and informative as this has been," Sirius said, inadvertently breaking Harry out of his spontaneous funk. "We really should move on to the reason you two are here in the first place, if Harry is feeling better now that he's satisfied the caffeine monster?" He wiggled his eyebrows at the boy who scowled and flipped him a two fingered salute. "Then I propose we move this party up to one of the sitting rooms upstairs."


	6. Chapter 6: At the Healers' Mercy

**Again, I apologize for how long this update took. Thank you to everyone who is following this story, it means a lot! Also a big thank you to everyone who have favorited, and especially thank you to those who have left reviews! I love any and all feedback, so please keep those reviews coming! Alright, enough of that, lets get on with the story!**

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I wish I did! Thanks to J.K.R. for such fun characters to play with!**_

" _Well, as amusing and informative as this has been," Sirius said, inadvertently breaking Harry out of his spontaneous funk. "We really should move on to the reason you two are here in the first place, if Harry is feeling better now that he's satisfied the caffeine monster?" He wiggled his eyebrows at the boy who scowled and flipped him a two fingered salute. "Then I propose we move this party up to one of the sitting rooms upstairs."_

Harry settled down on the couch farthest from the door, his mind whirling with everything he had heard in the past couple hours. The fact that Sirius hadn't gotten angry about his eavesdropping, that he had actually seemed to understand why Harry had done it, had settled more fears than Harry really wanted to admit. He was trying to trust Sirius, and indeed he trusted the man more than he did anyone else in the world at the moment, but when it came down to it his Godfather was right. He didn't, _couldn't,_ completely trust the man.

 _Not yet,_ Harry thought sadly, but a spark of hope had flared to life in his chest. _But we'll get there…I hope._

Harry was broken out of his musings by the three adults settling down on the remaining couches. Sirius was sprawled on the couch closest to Harry, a carefree smile playing on his lips as he chatted happily with his two "secret" friends. Healer Karten and Mayble - Harry supposed he should think of the woman as Healer Shancomb but the one time he had tried to address her that way on the way up from the kitchen she had hit him with an icy glare and threatened the integrity of some of his most important bits should he do so again. Anyway, the two Healers were seated beside each other on the couch directly across from him, their Healer's bags on the floor by their feet.

"Well, I think we should get down to it, then." Mayble said, drawing everyone's attention. "Harry, if you would, please?" He blushed heavily as she pulled a flimsy hospital gown from her bag and proffered it.

"Is that really- I mean do I really need to…" Harry mumbled as he accepted the gown.

"Of course," Mayble said, hiding a laugh at his obvious discomfort. "We want to keep this professional after all, yeah?"

Harry grumbled but reluctantly moved over to the corner to change in relative privacy. As like before Sirius attempted to distract the others with a rather loud commentary on the intricacies of the Black family tree.

 _I wonder how Malfoy would react if I brought up our relation…or Ron…_ Harry winced at that thought. _He would be bloody unbearable…but it might get the silly bugger to drop me as a friend…isn't that some food for thought…_

With the possibility of a year sans Ronald Weasley swimming through his head Harry finished tying the strings of his gown and made his way back to the center of the room. The mischievous smirk on his face drew a questioning look from Sirius but he just shook his head at the man, hoping he would keep any questions for later.

"Alright, Harry, just lie down on the couch." Healer Karten said, a kind smile on his face. "Mayble just needs to run some scans on your scar."

Harry frowned, from what he had heard of Sirius' conversation he had assumed she was going to be looking for something to do with his magic. Was his scar affecting his magic? Harry stifled a shudder at that thought and did as Karten told him. Once he was settled he focused his attention on Mayble.

She dug around in her Healer's bag for a moment before pulling out an odd looking silver contraption. It was long with two slim metal rods sticking side by side off of one end. The other end, where the two rods came together, trailed off in a long, tube like, bit of plastic that ended in a small ball about the size of a marble. She held another small metal rod in her other hand, her wand tucked securely behind her left ear.

Once she had collected everything she needed the female Healer stood and approached Harry's small prone form, a calm smile on her face. "I know this thing looks right strange, Harry, but it's nothing too… _invasive,_ don't fret," She smirked, sending him a saucy wink. "We'll save those toys 'till you're a bit older, eh?"

Harry couldn't help the snort that burst out of him at that, her dirty humor just absurd enough to loosen his wound nerves. He rolled his eyes at her smirk and did his best to relax back into the couch and ignore his Godfather's howling laugh.

"Right, I'll look forward to that, then, shall I?" Harry muttered, causing Sirius to laugh all the harder, and even pulling a chuckle from Karten. Mayble smiled widely at him, glad to see him relaxing, if only slightly.

"Now, then. This is called an _aurameter_. It will help me to measure and analyze any nuances in your aura." She said frankly, getting down to business. Harry relaxed even further, appreciating her taking the time to explain. "I will tap it gently three times, once above your center," she gently tapped the thin metal rod against the bigger contraption, holding it a bare inch above his stomach.

A light resonation shimmered through the air, Harry could barely hear it, it was more of a feeling than anything else. Harry let his eyes flutter closed, the vibrations lulling him into a light trance. "Once above your heart," again she tapped the contraption, causing the resonance to sharpen, the sound louder, the feeling more intense as it skittered over his skin.

"And once over your third eye," the last tap, just over his forehead, caused the shimmering sound to quiet again, while the feeling seemed to merge deeper into Harry's body. He could feel it all the way down to his bones and had to stifle a gasp when, upon opening his eyes, he saw a glow of swirling colors above him. Glancing down in amazement Harry saw that the swirling glow was emanating all along his body, a riot of color glimmering in the air around him.

"Hmmm…" Mayble's voice pulled him out of his admiration. "Well this _is_ a problem, isn't it?" Harry frowned and crossed his eyes trying to see what the Healer was scowling at just above his forehead.

"What is it?" Sirius demanded, his voice strained. " _What's_ a problem?"

"There's something foreign here," Mayble said, pointing the small rod of metal just above Harry's forehead, the boy in question gave up seeing whatever it was as a bad job and took to watching Mayble's face closely. "It shows up in his aura just over his scar…it looks alive…but that can't possibly…" Harry watched in dread as all of the blood in Mayble's face seemed to drain out and she started to shake slightly.

"Mayble?" Karten's rich voice came closer and he peeked over the large woman's shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"It-it's vile…" Mayble gasped. She seemed to be struggling to regain her composure but after a moment Harry saw the color start to creep back into her face. "I'll have to do some research on this, don't worry Harry. I'll figure this out, we'll have you right as rain in no time."

"Right," Harry said noting that Mayble seemed to be trying to convince herself as much as she was him.

"But is it what's causing the other…" Sirius piped up from behind the two healers, he paused seeming to search for the right word. "Well just the other issues I spoke to Jasper about?"

"I'm not sure, it seems that this…darkness has latched on to Harry's magic, just there around the edges." She pointed the small metal rod at his forehead again, causing Harry to go crosseyed once more as he tried to follow her gesture. "But I can also see some fraying in some places where there were some blocks on his magic. From the looks of things they were ripped away quite violently…"

"Ah, that would explain the strength of young Harry's _Connecting…_ " Healer Karten murmured. Mayble turned to look at the former Ravenclaw, a frown on her face.

"When was this? A full _Connecting_? At his age?" Mayble turned to look at Harry, her eyes wide. "You should've _Connected_ when you got your first wand…"

"He had an infant bind on his magic, Mayble." Karten said quietly, "And apparently this thing was restricting his core as well…" He gestured towards Harry's forehead.

"This is exactly why I wanted to see his file, Jasper!" Mayble said stomping back over to the other couch and dropping her instruments into her still open bag. She reached in and brought out a wooden sphere, about the size of an apple, that seemed to have hundreds of tiny runes etched into it. "I can't properly diagnose or treat him if i don't have all the relevant information."

"I'm sorry," Karten ducked his head, shame coloring his cheeks. "I just didn't think it wise to without Sirius and Harry's permission."

"Yes, well, do I have your permission _now_ , mutt?" Mayble snarled swiveling around to glower at a wide eyed Sirius.

"Of course, Mayble!" Sirius gulped, his hands held out in front of his body as if to shield himself from her anger.

"And you, Harry?" She asked, her voice softer as she turned to look at the boy in question. Harry blinked at the abrupt change in the woman's tone, and quirked an eyebrow.

"I don't know…how do I know you won't run and sell my whole file to the Daily Prophet the first time I infringe on your… _delicate_ sensibilities?" Harry asked with a smirk, trying to lighten the tense mood.

Harry worried that it had back fired when Mayble's angry scowl returned but a second later it disappeared as she smiled down at him, a small chuckle slipping from her lips. "Oh you don't have to worry about _that,_ Harry. No, I'll wait until you're older and I can sell the papers much _juicer_ info…"

Harry groaned theatrically and tried to roll over and burry his face in the cushions to hide from the woman's lewd smirk. "Alright, alright, you can see my file! Just please, anything but that!"

Sirius and Karten chuckled, effectively breaking the tension completely. Mayble shook her head, trying to hide her own amusement and brought the rune covered ball over to Harry.

"Alright, I'll have a look at it this evening, then. For now lets take some readings of your magic." She said, kneeling down next to him. "This is a Witching Ball, when I pass it through your aura, like this," She moved the ball up his body, from his feet all the way to his head. "Different runes react, depending on your individual aura."

"What do the runes mean?" Harry asked curiously, cocking his head as close to a dozen runes started to glow. Some were glowing more strongly than others, and some were pulsing with light.

"Well, this one," She pointed at a small, steadily glowing symbol close to the top of the ball. It looked like an oddly shaped t, a straight up and down line, but the cross stroke was strongly wavy. "is called Arhair. It can mean many things, like stealth, or secrets. But it can also mean shadow."

Harry cocked his head in confusion, his eyebrows drawing together. "And this one?" He pointed to another rune, glowing just as steadily, close to the first. It looked similar to the other, except for a small vertical squiggle to the right.

"Ah, you're already making connections, brilliant!" Mayble beamed down at him, causing a slight blush to creep up Harry's cheekbones. "This is Thanan, it stands for hidden power, or inner strength. If we connect these two runes I would hazard a guess that your magic is going to have a certain affinity for helping you to hide, or move about undetected."

"That's perfect, Pup!" Sirius exclaimed from over Mayble's left shoulder. His face was awash with so much pride that Harry had to look away in order to settle the sudden, odd tightness in his chest.

"Er…and this one? What does it mean that the light is pulsing?" Harry asked once he had swallowed the lump in his throat. He pointed to a symbol that almost looked like the pi symbol, only it had an odd curl to the right leg. Cocking his head he noticed another rune pulsing to the same beat as the first. It looked like a capital I with a strangely squished greater than symbol crossed through it. "And this one? They're pulsing to the same beat…"

"Ah, the pulsing could mean different things," Mayble said, shifting slightly to make herself more comfortable on the floor. "If they were pulsing irregularly it could mean conflict between the two, however, since these are pulsing together…" She trailed off, a frown sliding onto her face.

"What?" Harry asked, leaning closer to the little ball. He noticed Sirius and Karten leaning closer and gazing at the ball as well.

"It means that they are intertwined…working together you could say," Mayble said distractedly, seemingly lost in her thoughts. "But that's quite odd for these two specific runes…"

"Le'Cai and Darath…" Karten breathed, his eyes wide as he gazed over Mayble's shoulder. "What-"

"But they are natural opposites…" Sirius said, confusion coloring his voice. "How can they intertwine?"

"A middle ground, perhaps?" Mayble suggested, turning to look at the other adults.

"Wait, you mean neutrality?" Sirius asked, he raised an eyebrow incredulously.

"No, Mayble's right," Karten broke in, his eyes were darting back and forth in thought. "A true middle ground…not removed from the conflict as with the neutrals."

"Um, sorry to interrupt, but what do these runes mean?" Harry cringed as the three adults snapped around to look at him. Sirius shared a glance with Mayble before moving back towards the far sofa and retaking his seat.

"Sorry, Harry," Mayble said with a sheepish smile. "This one, Le'cai, stands for light, goodness. It's literal translation is 'nobility of the soul' or 'of noble spirit,' something like that." She pointed to the pi symbol shaped one.

"And this one, Darath, means darkness and malice. It's literal translation is 'dishonorable soul' or 'spirit of infamy' it is closely associated with dark magic." Karen continued, his face unreadable as he pointed to the other pulsing rune.

Harry looked between the two healers, his eyes wide, before turning to look at his Godfather. Sirius was watching him calmly, his gray eyes holding nothing but concern. Harry paused, confused for a moment.

 _He isn't angry?_ Harry frowned, but turned his attention back to the two healers who were still crowding over him, analyzing the glowing runes. "Does that mean I'm supposed to be a dark wizard or something?"

"What? No!" Mayble said, looking down at him in surprise. "No, Harry, your choices make you light or dark. All this means is that your magic would be suited to practicing either craft."

"And to be clear, Pup." Sirius' voice broke in. Harry jerked his head around to look at the old Marauder, a hint of pleading in his eyes. "Dark magic isn't necessarily evil or wrong. You could just as soon use light magic to kill or harm someone as dark magic, it's all about intent."

"But…if that's true, why don't they teach dark magic at Hogwarts? What's the difference?" Harry asked, frowning in confusion again.

Sirius sighed and leaned forward from his spot on the far couch, his hands clasped in front of him, elbows on his knees. "That is the beginning of a rather long discussion, one that will have to wait until later. Suffice it to say that, unfortunately, it has a lot to do with the prejudices and preconceptions that muggleborns bring with them from cultures steeped in religious superstitions and beliefs."

"But…" Harry's frown deepened, "These runes seem to equate light with good and dark with evil, they weren't made by muggles were they?"

"No, but these are two runes in thousands," Karten answered, drawing Harry's attention. "There are other runes out there that describe the light side of evil, and the good in darkness."

"He's right," Sirius said, "Muggleborns, in the past, would use runes like these to support their own biases and beliefs. It's a major reason why there is such discrimination among the purebloods, though if the old twats would just consider instituting a mandatory class on wizarding culture and belief systems we wouldn't be bollocks deep in a blood war."

"Of course they wouldn't consider such a thing Siri," Mayble interjected, finally looking up from the glowing ball in her hand. "Spending money on muggleborns? Such a radical idea!" Sarcasm all but dripped on the woman's words.

"Why's it so radical? It's a sensible idea…" Harry asked as he tried to sit up. Mayble put a restraining hand on his shoulder, though, and glared at him until he relaxed back into the sofa.

"Most of the older purebloods are of the opinion that it is the muggleborns' responsibility to educate themselves on our culture, and they see it as an insult, a blatant act of disrespect, when they choose not to." Karten said, his voice quiet. Harry looked at the man curiously and noticed that he was watching his Godfather intently.

Following the healer's gaze Harry noticed that Sirius had buried his head in his hands, his fingers gripping his hair. "Sirius…"

"We shouldn't be talking about this now." Sirius abruptly stood. He gave Harry an intense look, Harry had to look away from the swirl of emotions he couldn't identify in the man's eyes. "We'll talk more about this, Pup. I promise, just…not now."

"Alright," Harry mumbled, glancing back up at the man. Thankfully the strange intense look had disappeared. "So, I have light and dark potential…anything else?"

"Oh yes, lots. But nothing that needs attention just now." Mayble smiled, "The rest just tells me about the health of your magic, and it's potential…maybe when you know more about runes I could show you my findings?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically. "I'd love that!"

"Good." She smiled again before rising gracefully to her feet. "Now, there is one more test I need to do before Karten can give you his check up, and your eyesight potion, okay?"

Harry nodded again, watching as she rummaged around in her bag yet again. He narrowed his eyes as she pulled out what looked like a muggle syringe and a couple of empty potions vials.

"Alright, you can sit up now Harry." Harry did as she asked, only swaying slightly from the head rush after laying flat for so long. "I'm going to take some of your blood the Muggle way,"

"What? Why?" Harry squawked, pulling away from the sharp looking needle in her hand. It had an odd bulky end and she had a small length of clear tube in her other hand. He noticed Sirius hovering over her shoulder, a worried frown on his face.

"I need a sample that hasn't been touched by magic other than yours…so I can tell if there are any blood spells binding you, or if there are any hereditary curses active in your blood. If I used a spell it would mask any intrinsic magic in the sample." She explained gently as she pulled him back towards her. "Do you understand?"

"Y-yeah, I guess…" Harry said, frowning. "I've just never…" He gestured vaguely to the instrument eyeing it warily.

"Ah, right. Well, not to worry," She said, realization crossing her face. She smiled and glanced over at Sirius. "You're not the only one to get nervous at the prospect of getting stuck."

Harry turned wide eyes on his now blushing Dogfather. "R-really?"

Sirius grimaced at him and nodded reluctantly, "Yeah, I ran away from her screaming the first time she tried to draw my blood that way. She had to chase me down and have James sit on my legs."

A laugh bubbled out of Harry at that image, effectively breaking his nervousness. He brought his gaze back to Mayble and gave her a short nod to proceed. His eyes scrunched shut as she gently guided his arm closer, the inside of his elbow facing upwards, he felt a touch of pressure, then a slight prick of pain. It wasn't much, his eyes fluttered back open and he looked down to see her lightly taping the bulky end to his arm.

"Not so bad, eh?" She smirked at him before reaching down to grab the length of clear tubing.

"N-no…it didn't really hurt at all…" Harry admitted, embarrassed by his nervousness over something so small.

"Didn't hurt? Are you mad!?" Sirius squawked, "Jasper! He said it didn't hurt!"

Harry shook his head at the man's antics. Sirius was clinging to the arm of an equally exasperated Healer Karten, trying to convince the man of Harry's apparent insanity.

"Almost done now, just one more vial and I should be all set." Mayble said, bringing the male's attention back. Harry looked down and jerked at the sight of the previously clear tube coming from the needle in his arm, it was full of bright crimson blood.

"About bloody time," Harry heard Healer Karten mumble, apparently so did Mayble judging by the blistering glare she sent his way. He raised his hands in defense and stumbled back a few paces. "Sorry, I just didn't expect so many tests…"

"Yes, well, as I said earlier," She said as she started packing up the small vials of blood and disconnecting the tube from Harry's arm. "If I had had access to his records…"

"I know, I know, but you do now, yeah? So, all done?" Karten smiled winningly, Harry saw Sirius rolling his eyes behind the man's back.

"Yes, fine. All done," She turned to smile down at Harry again, "I'll have the results of these tests in a few weeks, sound good to you?"

Harry nodded and smiled back at the female Healer, his respect for her growing. She quickly removed the needle from Harry's arm and, after cleaning and bandaging the small wound, moved back over to her bag to begin packing her equipment away.

"Wonderful! My turn!" Healer Karten exclaimed, clapping his hands together as he shook Sirius off of his arm. Sirius leveled a glare at the man before slouching back down into his previously claimed couch. Harry smirked at him then laughed when Sirius, being the mature Godfather that he was, stuck his tongue out in return.

"So, just the eye potion from you, then, right?" Harry asked, turning his attention back to the Healer, suddenly nervous.

"Oh, no," Karten said, a sly grin creeping onto his face. "I've got to do a full check up, I think." He glanced over at where Mayble had settled into her own couch and was watching them curiously. "We wouldn't want Mayble to think we're keeping any of your medical history from her again, would we?"

Harry paled at that, his breathing speeding up at the thought of someone else finding out his secret. _It's ok, she's a Healer…She wont judge you…_ Harry tried to push down his rising fears. Logically he knew there was nothing to be afraid of, but his emotions would not cooperate. Magic began to zing under his skin, sending crackles of power down his nerves, an invisible breeze ruffled his hair.

Panic began to set in. Harry missed the concerned gazes the adults in the room exchanged as he began to shut down before them. Karten's worried frown deepened when he felt the stirrings of the boy's magic around them.

"Harry? Harry, what's wrong? Harry!" Sirius' voice broke through the fog of Harry's swirling emotions. He jerked, emerald eyes flying up to meet gray. He absently noted the worry etched in his Godfather's eyes, but it took a few moments, and a few deep breaths, before he got his bearings enough to understand what had happened.

"I-I'm sorry…" He mumbled, dropping his head into his hands, shame and embarrassment warred within him.

"Hey, it's alright, Pup..." Harry jumped when he felt Sirius' hand land on his shoulder, but leaned into the contact greedily. "Jasper was just joking, Mayble _does_ need to know, but if you'd rather her leave and just read it from your file I'm sure she would understand...Right May?"

Harry lifted his eyes to peer over at the woman through his fingers and fringe. She looked as if she was going to argue for a moment, her mouth twisted into a pinched pout, but after a second of silence she sighed and a look of understanding entered her eyes. "Of course. Harry, I just want you to be healthy, so if I need to leave for you to be comfortable with your check up, I will. But I'll need to read your file, Harry. To treat you correctly I'll need to know the truth."

Harry winced at that but after another fortifying breath he lifted his head to meet the woman's concerned gaze. "No, you-you can stay. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak out, I just...I wasn't expecting..." He trailed off, breaking eye contact as his embarrassment flooded his cheeks.

"It's okay, Harry, I understand. And thank you." Mayble said, her voice low.

"Right, well, moving on then." Healer Karten said, breaking the tension. "The eye correction potion first, I think. That way we can catch any side effects when we do the check up, eh?"

Harry nodded softly and took the proffered potion vial. "Here, give me your glasses. I dare say you won't be needing them after this," Healer Karten said with a small smile.

Harry did as he was asked, taking a second to look around at the now blurry room before closing his eyes. He took a deep breath, grateful for the steadying weight of Sirius' hand still on his shoulder, and necked the potion in one go. It tasted like ash on his tongue.

Nothing happened for a moment, Harry was about to voice his concern when he felt a prickling sensation behind his eyes, causing him to squeeze them closed even tighter. The feeling built steadily, until Harry was doubling over in pain, and Sirius had to grab his wrists to keep his fingers from his eyes. He vaguely heard Sirius' voice raised in anger, quickly answered by Karten's calm tone. Then it was over.

"Get him a handkerchief..." Harry felt someone dabbing moisture from his face with a cool, dry cloth. Apparently he'd been crying. How embarrassing. Harry grimaced at his own weakness. "Harry? Are you still in pain?"

Harry looked up at his Dogfather's worried face, "No, sorry, just..." Harry trailed off as it finally registered in his brain just how clear the world around him looked for the first time in his life. Even with his glasses his vision had never been so clear.

"Look at the tip of my wand now, Harry? I need to be sure your vision is completely corrected." Harry turned at the sound of Healer Karten's voice, he couldn't contain the wide smile spreading across his face as he took in every little detail of the man's features. He could see every little hair of the man's five o'clock shadow, every blonde eyelash, he could even see the raised, roughened skin of his chapped lips.

Harry turned his attention to the wand in the Healer's hand, focusing easily on the tip, taking in the swirling wood grain. Karten moved his wand form left to right, up and down watching as Harry's eyes easily tracked the movement. "Just a quick diagnostic now..." A quick flash of white light, not unlike a camera flash, momentarily blinded Harry.

"Bloody hell!" Harry groaned, "Warn a bloke next time!"

Sirius chuckled off to his left. "Give him some air Jasper, let him adjust."

"Fine, fine," Harry heard Healer Karten grumble, his voice moving away slightly. "His diagnostic came back fine, his eyesight is completely corrected..."

"How do we know if he has any side effects?"

Harry's head snapped up at Sirius' question, his own curiosity pushing the pain in his head to the background.

"Well, the most serious of the possible side effects is the Mage Vision, and that's fairly simple to determine. Harry?" The three adults turned their attention to him, causing Harry to shrink back unconsciously.

"I...I don't see anything that shouldn't be there..." Harry said uncertainly, glancing around the room. "But I don't really know what I'm looking for..."

Karten moved back towards him, ignoring Sirius' warning glare. "You don't see any colors or lights that are out of place? No spell residue or echoes?"

Harry smiled, "Nope, everything looks normal, well loads clearer than before, but normal."

"Brilliant!" Sirius exclaimed, letting out a relieved breath. "I love you, Pup, but you just seem to attract trouble so I was kinda worried for a moment there..."

Harry froze at those words. No one had ever said them to him, that he could remember any way. He stared wide eyed up at his Godfather, a warm tingle spreading through his chest. Sirius seemed to notice his shock and his smile slowly slipped from his face as he took in the boy's startled expression.

"Prongslet?" Harry shook himself, unwilling to explain his reaction in front of the two curious healers, no matter how much he was starting to like them. He didn't even know if he would be willing to explain his reaction when he and Sirius were alone.

"Er, yeah," Harry ducked his head and brought his hand up to scratch the back of his head, "Trouble magnet...that's me..." He forced out a laugh and hid a grimace at the stiff sound. "Er, shall we move on to the check up, then?"

Sirius continued to stare worriedly at him for a few moments, long enough for Harry to begin fidgeting, before finally giving a slow nod. "Alright, Pup. If you're sure…"

"Yes!" Harry nodded emphatically, "Completely, sure. I'm fine, Padfoot, really."

"Well, I'll just have you lay down again, then, Harry…" Healer Karten said, breaking the uncomfortable tension building between Godfather and Godson. "I'll just run a few diagnostic scans, just like last time, to see how you're fairing."

"Alright," Harry laid down once again, relieved to break eye contact with Sirius.

Healer Karten hovered over him and, just like the last time, muttered a string of Latin that Harry couldn't understand, and tapped him gently on the top of his head. Warmth spread down Harry's body, causing him to relax even further. This time Harry hadn't closed his eyes so he saw the roll of parchment and quill *pop* into existence just over Healer Karten's left shoulder.

Healer Karten raised his wand again and Harry felt the same cold sensation as last time sweep over him, and a few seconds later a second parchment and quill *pop*ed into being beside the first one.

"Brilliant," Karten said happily, "These shouldn't take as long as last time, they're just going to tell me any changes, good or bad, that have occurred since my last visit."

Harry nodded, "Will we be re-breaking my arm this time?"

"No, not today. I want you to put on as much weight as possible before I try anything with it." Karten sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It'll hurt more, the more muscle you build around it before hand, but it'll heal better with more stability to hold it in place. Once it's been healed you won't have any more problems with it, though. I would guess it'll be much less painful to hang on to your broom during Quidditch."

Harry hummed in agreement, closing his eyes as he tried to stay relaxed. After a few moments of silence he heard the shuffle of parchment and Healer Karten mumbling under his breath. Harry blinked his eyes open just in time to see the male Healer snatching the second parchment out of the air and bow his head over it, reading avidly.

"Alright there, Harry?" Mayble's voice floated over from the other side of the room. "I think Jasper is almost done, maybe after this you and I could have a private chat?"

Harry furrowed his brow, thinking furiously. _What on Earth could she want to talk to me about alone?_ "Er…sure? What-" He started but Mayble cut him off.

"When we're done, Harry. I promise it's nothing bad."

"Er…okay?" Harry shot a glance over to Sirius who was once again hovering behind Healer Karten, reading the parchment's over his shoulder. As if sensing his gaze Sirius glanced up and met Harry's eyes, giving the boy a small, reassuring smile and nod, before turning his attention back to the parchments.

"Well, it looks like everything is coming along. The nutrient potions are working splendidly, you've put on a full stone since the last time. Mostly muscle I see, has Siri been putting you through your paces?"

"Yeah," Harry grumbled, shooting his Godfather a playful glare, "He's a right slave driver, I swear."

"Thats excellent." Karten nodded, a smile on his face. "Though it seems the exercise has reopened some of the welts on your back. I think one more application of Dittany and Scar-Be-Gone should do the trick. If you'd just roll over, Harry we can have this over in a tick."

Harry complied, only hesitating a moment at the thought of Mayble seeing his scarred back. He avoided Sirius' eyes, not wanting to see the hurt there because he'd not told the man about the reopened wounds on his back. He had not wanted to make a fuss, he'd endured worse, they'd only even stung right after running when sweat got into them, so he'd kept quiet about the renewed pain in his back. Besides, part of him still expected Sirius to reject him if he showed weakness. Shaking his head he pushed those thoughts away and situated himself more comfortably on his front.

Once he was laying face down he felt Karten gently move the thin gown out of the way and the tell-tale tingle of the Dittany on his few re-opened welts. "I take it from the look on Siri's face you didn't tell him they had re-opened?" Karten asked mildly after a few moments.

Harry flinched slightly at the frustrated whine Sirius released at the question. "I-I just didn't want to be a bother…I knew you were coming back soon, and I mean I've dealt with worse…" Harry swallowed, his voice failing him. He could feel Karten's tension as he hovered over him, still slowly applying the Dittany.

"It's okay, Harry. I'm not cross." Harry relaxed slightly at that, hearing the truth in the man's voice. "And Sirius isn't either," Harry heard the plain warning in the words, directed at his Godfather. "Right, Sirius?"

"R-right, of course," Sirius stuttered, before pulling himself together. "I'm not angry, Harry, I promise. I'm just worried. And a bit hurt that you didn't trust me enough to ask for help."

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but stopped, remembering their conversation from earlier that morning. _It'll take time to build that trust. Don't worry, we'll get there._ "I'm sorry, Sirius. Really,"

"It's okay, just please, if this happens again, let me know. I don't want you hurting if I can _help_." Sirius said, Harry felt the man's hand on the back of his head, lightly ruffling his hair, and relaxed.

"Alright, let me re-apply some Scar-Be-Gone to these and we can wrap this up." Karten huffed, though Harry could hear the amusement in his voice. "I swear, every time I come over here it turns into a bleeding melodrama…"

"Oh, sod off Jasper! Let them have their moment, or should I tell the story of how you cried for three days straight when Filch's cat ate your pet puffskein?" Mayble snarked, effectively breaking the remaining tension.

"This is not about Chibi, alright?" Karten yelped indignantly. Harry turned his head in time to see a blush spread across Healer Karten's cheeks before the man ducked his head to rummage in his medic bag.

"Chibi? You had a puffskein named Chibi?" Harry asked incredulously.

"He did, in our fifth year. It was a cute, white, fluffy little thing. He used to carry it around with him everywhere back in school." Mayble said when Karten failed to reply. "He'd coo at it and snuggle it, all the girls in our year were dead jealous."

Harry was laughing outright by this point, he curled onto his side to hold his stomach as he giggled. He heard Mayble and Sirius laughing along, as Karten tried to sputter a response.

"Would you all stop acting like complete prats long enough for me to heal this young man?" Karten asked as the other three started to regain their breath.

"Of course, Jasper. _So_ sorry…" Sirius sniggered. Harry once again rolled onto his front, trying to stifle the laughter still threatening to bubble out of him.

With a put upon sigh of exasperation Healer Karten began to massage the cream into Harry's back. Harry's muscles relaxed almost immediately as he worked the cream into the new scars. His amusement ebbed away as he let himself drift a bit under Karten's ministrations. The healer rubbed the tension from his back and shoulders, though Harry was pleased that he didn't feel the pull of sleep this time.

A good ten minutes later Harry felt the Healer pull his hands away and move to stand. Harry shook himself from his relaxed haze and slowly sat up, not wanting to move too fast and make himself dizzy.

"Well, I think that's it for my part." Karten said, packing the cream and parchments into his bag. "Two more weeks of nutrient potion wouldn't go amiss, but after that, as long as you keep up the regular meals, you shouldn't need them any more."

"Good, they're _vile_." Harry muttered, though judging from the smirk on Karten's face the Healer had heard his complaint.

"I'll make a copy of Harry's updated file this evening, Mayble, and personally deliver it to you in the morning. Is that acceptable?" He cast a glance over everyone in the room. When no one raised any objections, he nodded and finished packing his things away. "Well, I'd best be off then, Harry, let Sirius know if your vision starts to change or if you start seeing anything you shouldn't alright?"

Harry ducked his head at the Healer's stern look and nodded, "I will, promise."

"Good, and if your back opens up again you _will_ tell Sirius so that he can call me. I mean it, Harry. Please let us help you."

"I know, I will," Harry said, swallowing around the sudden lump in his throat. "I'll do better, I swear it."

Karten face softened and he put a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder, squeezing lightly. "I know you will, lad. I know it's hard, but it will get better, in time."

Harry smiled uncertainly up at him both relieved that he wasn't angry and mildly upset with himself for allowing his insecurities to rule him.

"Now, Sirius, why don't you accompany me to the floo so that Mayble can have her privet chat with Harry?" Sirius nodded and the two left, leaving an awkward silence in their wake.

"I just wanted a quick word with you, Harry." Mayble started, clearly feeling just as nervous as Harry was. "I know we only just met, but I just wanted to let you know that I am here for you, if you ever want to talk or bounce ideas around or…well anything. I loved your mother like a sister and I'm so happy to finally be able to be part of your life."

"I…er…well thanks, Mayble." Harry stuttered, completely surprised by this turn of events. "I'm not, I mean to say…well, that is…" He stopped, unable to vocalize all the thoughts running through his head in that moment. He was utterly surprised to see a gentle look of understanding and patience on Mayble's face when he glanced up at her through his fringe.

"It's okay, Harry. I kind of sprang this on you, take all the time you need." Mayble sat back in her seat, her earlier nervousness bleeding away.

"Er, thanks." Harry ducked his head and ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"Hmmm…" Mayble replied, he could feel her eyes assessing him, as if gauging how he would receive her next words. After a moment of silence she tossed her multicolored hair over her shoulder and spoke in a confident voice. "I'd also like to talk to you about the possibility of allowing me to teach you Occlumency."

Harry's head snapped up at that and he gazed wide eyed at her. "Occlumency?"

"Well, the Mind Arts in general, but I'd like to start with Occlumency," She replied, eyeing his face closely. Light glinted off her tongue ring as she licked her lips in the only sign of nervousness Harry could see.

"I _am_ interested in learning the Mind Arts, but…well Sirius has been teaching me…at least the basics, he did say he'd have to find someone for the more advanced stuff but…" He trailed off uncertainly, not wanting to offend the woman he'd been coming to respect the more he spoke with her.

Harry relaxed slightly when he saw her nod, a slight smile showing she'd taken no insult. "I know, Siri mentioned that you were interested. I thought I'd offer my assistance since Siri never has been all that interested in learning the Mind Arts. He has his natural defenses and has never felt the need to expand on them or explore other possibilities. I'm sure he's been doing his best to teach you the bare basics, but…" She broke off and heaved a sigh fiddling with the ends of her curls in another show of nervousness.

Harry cocked his head a remained silent, waiting for her to finish her thought. She dipped her head and tossed her hair again, pushing it back behind her shoulders as if to rid herself of the temptation to tug at it.

"Occlumency training takes trust. The student needs to have a positive and trusting relationship with the teacher, or the student's mind will just react as if a hostile force is attacking it every time the teacher tries to assess their shields. It's frankly amazing that Siri was able to turn his traumatic experience into such solid defense, but if his mind saw no other way and his self preservation instinct kicked in…" Mayble shook her head and refocused on Harry. "Sorry I'm getting off topic."

"It's okay, I think I'm following you so far. But wouldn't needing trust just make it more important for me to learn under Sirius? He's really the only person I even slightly trust right now, no offense, but I just met you today so…"

Mayble shook her head quickly, a small smile on her face. "No offense taken Harry. You're quite right but that's _exactly_ why I think you should learn with me instead. Realistically, I'll be the one to teach you more advanced Mind Arts in the future. So it would make more sense for us to start building our relationship _now_ , while learning the basics. That way we could potentially have a solid foundation of trust already build when for when we need to move on to more advanced and complex Mental Magics."

Harry frowned but remained quiet, his thoughts whirling. _She makes a good point…but I don't know her that well…although, what she's proposing would remedy that, isn't that at the whole point she's making? Work with her on the basics to get to know her better…_

Harry glanced up through his fringe, he was surprised to see a relaxed, expectant look on Mayble's face. He'd been expecting irritation at his delay. _She doesn't seem like she'd be too bad of a teacher…_

"I-I just…" Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair distractedly and looked back down a the floor between his feet. "How am I supposed to build trust with Sirius if I'm too busy trying to trust you?"

"Oh, Harry," Harry looked up at the tone of sorrow in her voice and met her compassionate brown eyes. "You can trust more than one person at a time."

"I know that," Harry winced at the defensive tone, but plowed on. "I just don't want to shut Sirius out anymore, I'm _hurting_ him…" He dropped his head into his hands again.

A second later he went rigid as Mayble's arms wrapped around him and he was pulled into a tight hug. "You _do_ need to build your relationship with Sirius, Harry. But you shouldn't push yourself too quickly, that'll only hurt you in the long run and damage what relationship you do build."

Harry let himself melt into her embrace, releasing a sigh that seemed to catch in his chest. To his mortification he felt tears start to sting the corners of his eyes. "Why is it so _hard_? I know I should trust him, but then my thoughts start swirling, and all these doubts start creeping up…and my instincts start screaming at me to shut up, don't ask questions, don't be _weak_ …"

Mayble tightened her arms around him and started smoothing a hand over the back of his head. Harry felt the last of the tension drain out of his body as another sigh caught in his throat, or was it a sob? The tears were more than threatening now, pooling dangerously as he tried to blink them away.

"It's ok, I know Sirius, he understands this will take time. He understands that he's made mistakes that you both will have to work through before you can fully trust him. And that's perfectly normal, Harry. It's not weakness to ask for help, true strength is recognizing your limits and trying to improve past them, do you understand?"

Harry nodded into her shoulder and took a deep breath before leaning back and extracting himself from her arms. She let him go gently and retreated back to her previous position on the other couch. He shot her a grateful smile which she returned. "My doubts about trusting Sirius…the issues I have with his past decisions…they'd hinder my training in Occlumency if I learned from him, wouldn't they?"

Mayble regarded him closely for a moment, her smile dimming. "I believe so, yes. To learn the Mind Arts you have to be completely honest with your teacher, and maintain emotional control so you don't hurt yourself or your instructor while in the mind scape. If you were to come across one of those memories of Sirius that causes you to distrust him and both of your emotions started to spike…well, it could be very dangerous. For both of you."

Harry nodded, scrubbing a hand over his eyes to rid himself of the evidence of his tears. "I get it, and.." Harry glanced up with a nervous smile, "maybe having someone else to talk to about this stuff'll help a bit…"

Mayble nodded seriously, "As I said before, Harry, I'm willing to be here for you. I can be your sounding board if you like, or, since we'd be going through your memories for Occlumency you could think of me as your Mind Healer." At Harry's look of confusion she clarified, "Er…the Muggles call them counselors? Therapists?"

Harry's face cleared and he nodded thoughtfully, lapsing into silence once again. Mayble seemed to understand and respect his need to think the situation through and remained silent. Harry ducked his head as thoughts volleyed back and forth through his mind.

 _This could be a good idea…but would it hurt Sirius if I choose not to learn from him? No, he's the once who suggested finding another teacher, besides he's teaching me loads of other subjects…Shouldn't the thought of needing a 'Mind Healer' scare me? That almost sounds like my mind is broken, Uncle Vernon always called them…no! Who cares what he thinks? He's full of rubbish anyway, right? I could give this a try, and if I don't like it, I'll just stop…Right?_

"What if I were to agree now and change my mind after a few lessons?" He asked suddenly, looking up to watch her through his hair.

Mayble blinked in surprise, "Well, I would want to talk about it. Just so that I could understand what was going wrong, or making you uncomfortable, and either work on finding a way to fix it going forward or find you another teacher who could meet your needs better."

Harry stared at her with wide eyes for a moment, his head having risen as she spoke. He blinked after a moment and ducked his head in embarrassment, thoughts spinning once again. _Well, that's…different._

Making his decision Harry nodded resolutely. "Alright then, if you can promise that, I'm in." He thrust a hand out, a determined gleam in his emerald eyes.

Mayble took his hand firmly, a look of pride glimmering in her deep chocolate eyes. "I promise, Harry."


	7. Chapter 7: Memory Magic

**I'm back! So sorry for being gone so long, life happened. I had a great job, but then I got laid off. Unemployment sucks. But I've come back to writing with a passion! Thanks to those of you who are still reading this story! I have to offer you a somewhat longer that usual chapter, and I've already got a decent start on the next one. Not to mention, I've started a new story. I've not uploaded it here yet…I kind of what you guy's opinion on if I should go ahead and upload what I have so far of that story or wait until this one is finished to start uploading my other one…Let me know in comments!**

 **As always, I love any and all feedback so please keep those comments coming! Alright, on with the story!**

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I wish I did! Thanks to J.K.R. for such fun characters to play with!**_

" _What if I were to agree now and change my mind after a few lessons?" He asked suddenly, looking up to watch her through his hair._

 _Mayble blinked in surprise, "Well, I would want to talk about it. Just so that I could understand what was going wrong, or making you uncomfortable, and either work on finding a way to fix it going forward or find you another teacher who could meet your needs better."_

 _Harry stared at her with wide eyes for a moment, his head having risen as she spoke. He blinked after a moment and ducked his head in embarrassment, thoughts spinning once again._ _ **Well, that's…different.**_

 _Making his decision Harry nodded resolutely. "Alright then, if you can promise that, I'm in." He thrust a hand out, a determined gleam in his emerald eyes._

 _Mayble took his hand firmly, a look of pride glimmering in her deep chocolate eyes. "I promise, Harry."_

ooOoo

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Sirius asked, worry crinkling his brow as he glanced back over his shoulder for the third time since he and Jasper had left the sitting room. Since he'd left Harry alone with Mayble. A woman the boy had just met that day. A certified Healer who had just found out about the boy's abuse. "Maybe I should go back and make sure Harry's ok…"

"Sirius!" Jasper's exasperated voice broke into his swirling thoughts and Sirius jerked his head around to look at the man. "They'll be fine. Stop worrying."

Sirius sighed and hunched his shoulders, running both hands over his face. "He doesn't trust me, Jasper." He dropped his hands and met his friend's eyes. "I know it takes time but he was _hurt_. He was in _pain_ , and he didn't trust me enough to tell me! He thought I would think him weak, _weak_ Jasper, for asking for help."

Jasper let out an irritated sigh and reached out, grabbing Sirius' shoulder in a tight grip. "You are utterly infuriating," He growled as he yanked Sirius into a tight hug. He held on as Sirius stiffened and tried to pull away before giving up and relaxing into the hold. "You need to talk to someone, Sirius, you need help healing from your time in Azkaban, mentally _and_ emotionally. I can only help you so much by healing your body…"

Sirius went rigid again and tried to yank himself away only to fail. He stood stiffly in Jaspers arms. "What are you saying, Karten?" He hissed, glaring at the far wall.

"I'm saying, _Black_ , that Mayble is probably offering to act as a Mind Healer for Harry, Merlin knows the boy will need it to deal with all the shite he's been through." Sirius paused at that, a little of his anger ebbing away. "And I'm saying that you'd benefit from talking to someone as well. You can't help Harry if your struggling with your own demons."

Sirius sagged, dropping his head onto Jasper's shoulder in defeat. "Who would I even begin to ask? I'm a wanted criminal…"

"Try looking outside the country. You do have some properties in France and Spain, even in the Americas if I'm not mistaken?" Sirius nodded against his shoulder. "I'm sure one of those countries would be willing to give you asylum if you asked, plus it would give you and Harry a nice little bolthole if things went pear shaped with Dumbledore."

"That's…a brilliant idea!" Sirius pulled back, this time Jasper let him go freely, and beamed. "See! This is why I keep you around Jass!"

"Don't call me that…" Jasper sighed, his face settling into boredom now that Sirius was effectively broken out of his funk. "I have a feeling I've just volunteered myself for a whole lot more work…"

Sirius smiled sheepishly at him and rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, I can't very well go ask for asylum myself, now can I? If they said no I'd be handed over to ol' Fudge and Kissed faster than you could blink!"

"Yes, yes, we'll bring it up with Mayble as well," Jasper rolled his eyes. "I'm sure she'd be willing to help. Between the two of us I'm sure we'll be able to find a country willing to house you. Now, I really must be going, I have another appointment this afternoon. I'll be back in a week for another check up, just floo me if anything comes up between now and then."

Sirius frowned at that and reached out to stop the Healer before he reached the entrance hall floo. "But, Jasper how am I to know if something's wrong if he won't _tell_ me?"

Jasper paused, studying the distressed look on Sirius' face for a long moment. "You'll just have to keep a close eye on him, Siri. And trust that he'll keep his promise to tell you if anything's wrong."

Sirius heaved a sigh and dropped his hand. "Alright. I'll try, Jass. I just worry about him…"

Jasper relaxed his shoulders slightly, a fond glint in his eyes. "I know Siri, I'll work on finding you a Mind Healer." Jasper flashed a quick smile before stepping into the floo. "It'll get easier, you'll see."

A flash of green flames and the Healer was gone, Sirius dropped into a chair by the door. _I hope he's right…_

ooOoo

Harry looked up from his book as Sirius entered the library. They hadn't spoken much in the two days since the healers had come. Sure, they'd continued with lessons, and exercise training, but any regular conversation had been stilted and awkward.

Harry sighed and lowered his book, marking his page with a scrap of parchment, as Sirius disappeared behind a book shelf without a word. If he was being honest, Harry knew he was the source of most of the awkwardness between them. He just felt so guilty over hiding the fact that his back had reopened, that he hadn't trusted Sirius enough to ask for help.

That coupled with his agreement to let Mayble teach him the Mind Arts…

Harry just couldn't help but feel that he'd let his Godfather down. And it seemed like Sirius felt the same, with the way he'd been avoiding Harry lately.

Harry sighed again and dropped his head into his hands. This was getting ridiculous, he needed to suck it up and talk to his Godfather. With that thought, he tightened his resolve and let his hands fall away from his face.

"Sirius?" Harry heard the rustling of pages stop off to his left. "Sirius, do you have a minute?"

"Sure, Pup…" Sirius' voice sounded from between the shelves, Harry let out the breath he'd been holding. "Give me a second to find this book, alright?"

"Sure, no problem," Harry hoped his voice didn't sound as nervous as he was feeling. Not a minute later Sirius emerged from the stacks, an old leather bound book in hand.

"What did you need, Harry?" He asked, sitting down across the table, an open, if nervous, look on his face.

"I - I just thought…" Harry swallowed, he couldn't bring himself to look at the man so he stared down at his book, fidgeting with the spine. "I - I…"

"Harry," The understanding tone of Sirius' voice had Harry glancing up into his soft gray eyes. "I know things have been a bit…awkward, since Jasper and Mayble's visit, and I'm terribly sorry for that,"

"No!" Harry interrupted, flushing at Sirius' raised eyebrows. Before dropping his gaze again. "I mean, you shouldn't be sorry. I - I'm the one who let _you_ down. I hid things from you, I ditched you for Mayble, I-"

"Harry! Slow down!" Sirius halted Harry's sputtering, placing a warm hand over Harry's own. "You haven't let me down, Harry. I promise you, and as for ditching me for Mayble." Sirius shook his head, a fond look on his face. "I told you, I'm rubbish at the Mind Arts, I'm just happy you have someone able and willing to teach you."

"But…" Harry shook his head, still staring down at his fidgeting hands. "But you've been avoiding me…" He trailed off, embarrassed at how small his voice sounded, at the slight tremor it contained. A deep sigh from Sirius had him glancing back up again.

"I - I didn't think you'd noticed…" Harry watched uncertainly as Sirius ran a nervous hand through his hair. "I'm so sorry, Harry. I _have_ been avoiding you, but not because of anything you've done. Please believe that." Sirius met Harry's eyes intently and reached out to grip his hand tightly.

"Alright…" Harry nodded, squeezing Sirius' hand before gently pulling away and hiding his hands in his lap. "But if it wasn't because you were disappointed with me, then…why?"

Sirius sighed again and let his shoulders slump as he pulled his hand back and let it rest in his own lap. "Harry, I…Azkaban isn't a nice place, Pup. It's a harsh, frozen, isolated place. And every cell is guarded by dementors."

"Wait, your cell was guarded by dementors? I thought they just guarded the perimeter, like they did at Hogwarts…" Harry leaned forward, horror coursing through him.

Sirius shook his head, "Oh, no. They ghost though the halls of Azkaban, leaving nothing but fear and pain in their wake." Harry shivered, the hair along his arms raising in instinctual fear. "People lose their minds in Azkaban, insanity drips from the walls there. The only thing that saved me was Padfoot. Escaping into animal form gave me a small respite from their effects."

"How?" Harry questioned, eyes wide.

"From what I can tell, the Dementors don't pick up animalistic emotions like they do human ones." Sirius shrugged and shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure, Jasper and Mayble have me researching it but…well that leads us back to the point I'm trying to make here."

"Oh, right. Why you've been avoiding me…" Harry sat back, ducking his head once again. He peaked through his fringe to see Sirius running his hand through his hair again.

"Right." The man grimaced before seeming to steel himself. "Thirteen years in Azkaban left it's mark on me, Harry. I…I know Mayble offered to act as your Mind Healer," Harry flushed at that, and dropped his eyes back down to the table. "Being mine too would be a conflict of interest. So Jasper and I are looking outside the country to find me someone to talk to."

Harry jerked his head back up, eyes wide, as the implications of Sirius' words clicked in his mind. "You…you're going to see a Mind Healer too?" He ignored the way his words came out as a strangled whisper, too intent on Sirius' answer.

"Yeah, I was planning on telling you once I found someone. I didn't want to worry you with my issues." Sirius reached out and nudged Harry's chin up to close his gaping mouth with a small smile. "I know it's hypocritical since I ask you to share these things with me, I realize that, and I _will_ share these things from now on, I promise you. I just wanted you to have a stable adult to rely on, I just…" Sirius dropped his hand and let out his breath the small smile long gone. Replaced by worry.

"You just didn't want me to worry." Harry supplied, a small smirk twisting his lips. "I know the feeling."

Sirius gave a rueful chuckle, "We're both learning, Pup. We'll get better, it-"

"Just takes time." Harry finished with a smile, "Yeah, I'm starting to see that."

ooOoo

Sirius looked up from his most recent correspondence with the Goblins, the plans for extracting the Basilisk were progressing quickly, as an owl flew in through his window.

He didn't recognize the small muted brown creature and immediately drew his wand and started casting revealing charms and diagnostic spells over it and the small package it carried.

He frowned heavily when all of his spells came back negative. Hesitantly, still highly suspicious of the unknown sender, Sirius reached out and untied the twine keeping the small parcel attached to the owls leg. Said creature huffed and shuffled indignantly at having to hold its leg out so long. Once relieved of its burden the owl nipped Sirius' finger viciously before swooping out the window.

"Bugger! Mankey blighter!" Sirius yelped, immediately sticking his bleeding digit into his mouth. He continued to grumble darkly to himself as he eyed the brown paper wrapped package on his desk. It was rectangle, and Sirius could tell it was under a shrinking charm.

Sighing he waved his mother's wand to reverse the shrinking charm, the package grew to be a little over a foot long, and about four inches thick, two inches wide. He could see the corner of a letter poking out from the edge of the brown wrapping.

Pulling in free Sirius resisted the urge to cast more scanning charms, shaking his head at his own paranoia. The envelope was blank, so he quickly cut it open and pulled out the folded letter.

 _Greetings Mr. Menheim,_

 _Please find enclosed with in the attached package the two wands you commissioned previously. Regarding the spare wand attuned to Miss Joanna, I've included all of the_ _necessary_ _charms. Indeed you shall find all of the basic requirements for the average adult's wand._

 _My apologies for the longer than expected wait, some of the materials used were quite interesting. Only available under certain conditions, I'm afraid, and therefore challenging to find in our current climate. I'm sure you understand._

 _I have forwarded the request for the remaining payment to Gringotts, as instructed. It was a pleasure serving you and young Miss Joanna. I hope to do business again._

 _Regards,_

 _Valgus Repping_

Sirius sighed as he lowered the letter. _So, the components of Harry's new wand were illegal. Brilliant._

He shook himself in a gesture much closer to something his doggy counterpart would do. It wasn't as if Harry just _having_ a second wand wasn't illegal. and judging from Repping's note he'd indeed left off the Trace charm.

Right. He'd just have to be sure to impress upon Harry just how important keeping this wand secret really was. Truly, he wasn't all that worried. Harry seemed much more mature than his age would imply, probably a side effect of living with those sorry excuses for human beings, the Dursleys.

"Kreature." He called, pulling himself from dark thoughts of revenge. The old house elf popped in, his stance tall, shoulders squared. Sirius had to smile to himself at the difference in the elf. As much as he hated the blighter, he couldn't deny that Harry's plot had worked wonders on the elf's self worth.

"Master called for Kreature?" The elf croaked, bowing low.

"Yes, please tell Harry I need him to come to my study. No rush, just as soon as he has a moment." Sirius instructed. He'd wait to open the wands until Harry was there.

"Yes, Master." Kreature bowed again and popped away. Sirius leaned back in his chair, he hoped Harry would believe that he didn't have to hurry, but he didn't really think the boy would.

Sure enough, a few moments laters Sirius heard the sound of feet racing up the stairs. He sighed and hung his head a little, he'd hoped Harry was getting comfortable enough here but…

Shaking himself once again, he pulled himself out of that train of thought. It wouldn't help anyone, let alone Harry. They would get there, it would just take time.

He looked up, a small smile on his lips, when he heard a firm, if timid, knock on his study door. Even if he and Harry were not the only two in the house, not including the house elves, those pesky buggers never used doors, he would have known it was Harry knocking. It was a strange mix of determination and nervousness that could only come from his paradoxical godson.

"Come in, Harry." He called, smiling wider when he saw the boy's flushed cheeks and obvious attempt at controlling his breath. "You didn't have to run, didn't Kreature tell you it wasn't urgent?"

"Oh, y-yeah, but it'd be rude to keep you waiting, so…" Harry trailed off with an easy shrug, but Sirius' sharp eyes caught the boy's fingers twisting nervously at the hem of his shirt.

"It's fine, Harry. I just wanted to let you know our new wands came today." His smile grew when he saw Harry brighten at that.

"Really? Have you opened them? What does mine look like? Does this mean I can start practicing my magic now?" Sirius held a hand up with a chuckle when Harry had to pause to suck in a breath.

"Slow down, Pup. Take a breath." Harry ducked his head and blushed, but still leaned forward eagerly. "I haven't opened them yet, I rather thought you would want to be here to open them with me?" Sirius raised his eyebrow in question.

"Yes!" Harry nodded emphatically.

"Good, and yes. This means you may start practicing magic this summer. However, there are a few rules we need to talk about." He met Harry's eyes firmly. He frowned slightly when he saw fear flicker through the green orbs, and the boy's Adam's apple bob as he swallowed nervously.

"Okay, what rules?" Harry asked, Sirius could almost hear the _and what are the consequences for breaking them?_ hanging in the air.

"Mostly common sense stuff," Sirius said reassuringly, "No magic unless I, or another trusted adult, is in the room." He paused to get a nod of understanding from Harry. "I'm sure there are going to be more rule's we'll have to discuss when we encounter issues, but for now there is just one other rule I want to impress on you."

He paused again to make eye contact with the young man across from him. Harry's brow was wrinkled in concern but Sirius could see the glint of determination in his eyes.

"You must not tell anyone else about your spare wand. Not unless you trust them absolutely, and you and I have discussed it before hand." Sirius said solemnly.

"O-okay," Harry said, confusion clear in his tone.

Sirius leaned back in his chair and cast a calculating eye over his charge. Maybe it was time to test his ability to decipher the infernal double speak prevalent in the…less than legal communities. He'd been planning on asking Mayble to start teaching the boy a bit, Merlin knows she had a smoother tongue even than Sirius, being in Slytherin. But here was an opportunity to see just how much training the young man would need…

"Tell me, what do you make of this?" Sirius asked suddenly, sliding the letter from Repping across the table. Harry started slightly, surprised by the apparent topic change.

"Erm…" Sirius watched as the confusion grew in Harry's eyes as he scanned the note, his brow furrowing in thought. "Well, I think the first paragraph is saying that he's left something off my wand that is generally put on underage wizard's wands?" Harry asked uncertainly.

Sirius inclined his head, waiting for the boy to go on.

"Er…I'm assuming that's what you were talking about in the shop when we first went in? When you said something about paying _more_ for _less_ , and how privacy is hard to come by and all that? So maybe it's some sort of monitoring or tracking charm? A way to track underage magic?" Harry was on a roll now, his eyes gleaming as he went back to scanning the letter.

"Very good, what else?" Sirius murmured, unwilling to jar the young wizard out of his thoughts.

"Hmmm…this is interesting…its almost as if he's saying some of the components for my wand were hard to get because they were out of season in Britain? That can't be it though…current climate…political climate? So maybe some of the materials used for my wand would be frowned upon by the current Ministry?" Harry finished, raising an eyebrow at his Godfather.

"Very good, pup!" Sirius beamed, "You missed a few subtleties but I'm very proud at how much you did understand."

"What did I miss?" Harry asked, frowning back down at the letter in his hands.

"Well, judging from the delicate phrasing, and the fact that he included it at all, I'd say the materials used for your wand would be for than frowned upon by the Ministry. Probably more like downright illegal and extremely dark." Sirius said, running a hand over his facial hair. "I'd also wager Mr. Repping has a good idea about who we really are, judging by the fact that his owl came directly here instead of being filtered through Gringotts…"

Harry looked up at that, his eyes wide. "Isn't that a bad thing? He could sell you out to the Ministry!"

"Hmmm…I don't know yet. Everything he's done and said makes me believe he's willing to work with us…" Sirius said, tilting his head. "And it's not as if he has any proof to give the Aurors…so we'll just have to keep an eye on him, I think."

Harry nodded unhappily and Sirius had to hide a fond smile. His Godson cared about him. It made a warm glow swell in his chest.

"Right then," Sirius said, clapping his hands together. "Lets take a look at these wands, eh?"

ooOoo

Harry sat forward eagerly, nodding his head. He wanted to be able to use magic again. Now that he could feel it swirling under his skin so freely he'd been itching to let it out.

Not to mention how twitchy it made him, not having a way to defend himself that wouldn't get him expelled. The exercise sessions with Sirius were helping to develop his muscles, but he was still a far cry from being ready to excel in any sort of physical confrontation.

Sirius smiled indulgently at him and started to unwrap the long parcel on his desk. "Here you go, Pup. Open yours first." Sirius passed him one of the two slim boxes.

Harry sat back in his chair, a smile playing on the corners of his mouth. He could feel his magic swirling, reaching out to the wand made just for him. He pulled the lid off and set it aside, there was a small slip of parchment on top of the box lining.

"Hmmm…looks like Mr. Repping included a list of the materials he used." Harry murmured, glancing up at his Godfather. "It says the wood is eleven and one thirds inches of Silver Lime? I've never heard of that…"

"Hmm…well, from what I can remember of the wand lore lessons my Grandfather insisted on…Silver Lime is a rather rare wood. I think Silver Lime wands had a reputation for choosing Seers. And those skilled in the Mind Arts…"

"Oh, so it means I'll be good at Occlumency and Legilimency?" Harry asked, cocking his head slightly and giving his Godfather a hopeful look. "Well thats good, isn't it?"

"It could mean your magic has a certain proclivity towards those practices, yes." Sirius nodded thoughtfully. "What's the core?"

Harry frowned back down at the slip of parchment, "It says the core is…Horned Serpent horn? Serpent as in snake?" Harry looked back up at Sirius in alarm.

Sirius leaned back in his chair, eyeing his Godson carefully, "Yes, Horned Serpents are snakes, and now I understand Mr. Reppings letter."

"Huh?" Harry articulated, confusion showing on his face.

"Horned Serpent renderings are banned in England. They can be used in quite a few dangerous potions, and when used as wand cores," Sirius gestured to the box sitting in Harry's lap. "They typically choose…Parslemouths."

Harry swallowed nervously, he had told Sirius about being a Parslemouth, but he was sure the man had forgotten. They had sort of glossed over that bid of information in their hurry to share their knowledge and thoughts. If he hadn't forgotten Harry was sure the man would have brought it up, angry that the product of his close friends could have such an evil gift. Sure the man had been excepting of Slytherin tendencies, even had at least one Slytherin friend…but this was different. Parsletongue was evil. Right? Everyone said so.

"Harry," Sirius started, but Harry cut him off.

"Why would my magic react to something like that?" Harry laughed nervously, feigning confusion. "Maybe there was some mistake, he must have-"

"Harry." Sirius said more forcefully, causing Harry's words to die in his throat. "It's okay, Pup. I didn't say anything about it when you told me, and perhaps I should have, but it's okay. Parsletongue is just like any other ability. You use it, it doesn't use you. It doesn't define you."

Harry let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding and sagged slightly in his chair. He kept expecting the other shoe to drop, for Sirius to realize what a worthless freak he was, and turn away from him like everyone else. He knew, intellectually, that Sirius had gone to a lot of trouble to be here for him, to intervene and help as much as he could, but Harry just couldn't help the life time of conditioning he'd had that told him he would mess it up eventually. That everyone would leave and it would be his fault.

But Sirius was slowly proving that conditioning wrong. His Godfather had rescued him from the Dursleys', had found out about his abuse, and listened to his rants and his secrets, and he had stayed. He'd accepted Harry like no one else had. And he was being exceptionally patient, understanding that it would take Harry time to come to trust him.

And here he was again, excepting a part of Harry that everyone else had shunned. That everyone else had reviled him for, at part of him that he couldn't help. But here Sirius was, staring at him calmly with understanding and…was that love? shining in his eyes.

Harry took a deep breath and dropped his head into his hands. "You don't care that I'm a Parslemouth? You don't hate me because I can speak to snakes?" He asked softly, his voice muffled by his hands.

"Of course not," Sirius answered, his voice low and calm. "Like I said, it's an ability. One that we can hone and one that may help save your life someday. It's part of you, I could never hate any part of you."

Harry looked up at him, he couldn't keep the hope he felt swelling in him from showing on his face. He knew he had to look pathetic, but at that moment he really didn't care. But after a second of meeting Sirius' level gaze he felt a wash of shame heat his face. "I-I'm sorry,"

"What do you mean? Sorry for what?" Sirius asked, a frown flickering across his face.

"I keep doubting you. I know you keep saying it'll take time, but I just hate that every time something comes up I expect…" Harry dropped his head again, hating the niggling doubt that wouldn't leave him.

"Harry," And suddenly Sirius was there, holding him against his chest in a solid hug. Harry froze but couldn't bring himself to draw away from the warm comfort his Godfather was offering. "I love you. I'll always love you, whether you doubt me forever or come to trust me. It wont effect my love for you."

They stayed like that for a few moments before separating. Sirius walked back around the desk to his chair as slowly as possible, giving Harry a moment to discreetly wipe his eyes.

"Thank you, Sirius." Harry mumbled. He shook himself and took a deep breath, looking back down at the slip of parchment he had all but forgotten.

"Well now, let's see," Sirius said, settling down in his chair and refocusing on Harry. "You've got a Silver Lime wood, Horned Serpent horn core wand. As I said, Honed Serpent parts, particularly the horn if my memory serves, are rumored to respond to Parselmouths. The wand lore I remember learning also suggests that they make for a powerful tool for both Light and Dark magic users."

"So I have a wand that has a proclivity for the Mind Arts and that will allow me to…choose my own path, in a sense?" Harry asked, a frown line forming between his eyebrows. "And what does speaking Parseltongue have to do with my wand? Are there Parseltongue spells?"

"So it would seem," Sirius inclined his head. "I'm not sure about Parseltongue spells, but I'm sure we can find a book on it, if not in the Black library then down Knockturn Alley."

Harry nodded, happy with that answer for now. He looked up, a little bemused when he heard his Godfather clear his throat meaningfully.

"Well? Are you going to pull it out and give it a try or not?" Sirius asked, amusement evident in his eyes.

"Oh, right," Harry chuckled, embarrassment creeping up his cheeks. He refocused on the box in his lap and carefully pulled back the layers of lining that were hiding his new wand from view.

He couldn't help the sharp exhale that left him upon seeing the beautiful instrument that came into view. It was pure white and seemed to glow with a eerie silver radiance in the dimly lit room. "It's beautiful," he breathed, brushing a hand over it, feeling the smooth texture for himself.

He shifted it out of the velvet lined intention and noticed a thin, raised line of silver toned wood that wrapped around the handle like vines, it was mostly straight, with a arc at the handle, it fit Harry's hand perfectly.

Harry let his eyes slip closed as he reveled in the feeling of his magic pouring into the wand, evaluating it. It seemed to take a lifetime, but eventually his magic settled, bonding his wand to him more tightly than Harry thought possible. He opened his eyes, a huge grin on his face, only to see his Godfather staring at him with wide eyes.

Harry noticed the study looked like it had been hit by a wind storm, papers strewn on the floor, knickknacks knocked over, and Sirius' hair looked distinctively ruffled.

"Er, sorry?" Harry squeaked, it came out more like a question.

Sirius let out a shaky breath and grinned widely, "Sorry? Pup, that was bloody amazing. So much magic!"

Harry blushed and ducked his head, "Heh, I'm just glad I can access my magic now. I hated feeling cut off from it."

Sirius smiled and nodded, "I understand that, my Mother's wand's been getting the job done but I'll be much happier to have a wand of my own again."

He reached out and grabbed the remaining box sitting on his desk, pulling it to himself eagerly. Harry had to stifle a chuckle at the childish exuberance rolling off his Godfather. Shaking his head he leaned forward to get a better view.

Sirius took his time pulling off the lid and paused as a slip of parchment fluttered out onto the desk. Harry quickly reached out and snagged it with his Seeker's reflexes, making a face at his Godfather's outraged sputtering.

"Oi! That's mine!" Sirius shouted indignantly.

Harry stuck his tongue out at the man and laughed. "You were taking too bloody long!"

"Yeah, yeah, cauldron meet kettle…" Sirius grumbled, leaning back in his chair with a roll of his eyes. Harry grinned, detecting a hint of amusement in the old marauder's glare.

"Let's see, its says your wand is twelve and one half inches of Dogwood…" Harry snorted, "Well thats fitting, isn't it?"

"Hmmm…Dogwood is interesting indeed," Sirius mused, his head quirked slightly. "They're known to be mischievous and not without their own quirks…yes, I'd say that is rather fitting…"

Harry chuckled and shook his head, glancing back down he read farther, "The core is Jackalope Antler…what's a Jackalope?"

"I believe it's a creature native to North America. Other than the fact that it looks like a large hare with antlers, I truly don't know much about it. I haven't heard of Jackalope Antlers being used in wands…" Sirius was gazing curiously at the rather long, dark, twisted looking wand resting in his hand. A warm wind swept gently through the study and a soft glow enveloped the man for a moment.

"Well it looks like your magic connected with it just fine?" Harry said, making it sound more like a question.

"That's much better," Sirius sighed, "My magic hasn't felt this strong since before Azkaban."

Harry smiled and settled back in his chair, content to play with his new wand as his Godfather did the same.

ooOoo

The rest of July passed in a whirlwind of new knowledge and training for Harry. He was getting more and more physically fit each day, much to Healer Karten's approval during his weekly check ups, his relationship with Sirius was improving just as steadily, much to both wizard's delight, and most importantly Harry's magical prowess was growing by leaps and bounds under the supervision of both Sirius and Mayble.

"This is wonderful, Harry!" Mayble clapped her hands, joy shining in her eyes as she gazed around at the various streams of memories flowing past her. "And you said you've figured out how to recall certain memories?"

"Yeah, I just have to have a general idea of the time frame." Harry nodded, pride welling up in his chest at her praise. "I have all the streams set up to be in chronological order so it's not hard to find specific memories, and it will be easy upkeep too. They'll automatically be added to the correct stream as they come in."

They were 'standing' in Harry's mindscape, surrounded by several streams of memories. Harry had taken to Mayble's Occlumency lessons like a duck to water, and Mayble couldn't be more thrilled with his progress.

"I'm so proud of you, Harry! It couldn't have been easy to go through all of them and get them sorted…" Mayble trailed off, watching Harry closely.

"Yeah, there were a few less than great moments I'd just as soon forget…" Harry flushed, ducking his head. In truth, going through his childhood recollections had been just about the hardest thing he'd ever had to do. Rewatching, re-feeling, all of the insults, the beatings, the hunger and loneliness. Harry shivered just thinking about it.

He'd thought he had perfect recall before, but now he realized he'd been shutting out parts of his memory, to protect himself. He was so grateful to Mayble, she'd been there for him through some of the worst of it. She'd let him talk it out, rant it out, scream, rage, even cry about some of the injustices heaped on him.

"It happened, Harry. It happened, and it hurt, it still hurts, but your stronger than they are, your strong enough not to let their actions keep hold of you." She'd said, "You're here now, just remember that."

Harry had taken her words to heart, he'd thrown himself into his work out routine with Sirius, as well as his magical studies. He was determined to be as strong as he could be, so no one could hurt him like the Dursleys had, and so he could protect himself from Dumbledore's manipulations.

Harry grinned at his teacher as she wandered around his mindscape, inspecting every detail.

"How are things between you and Sirius? Last time I was here you said you still hadn't spoken to him about the night your parents died." Mayble asked suddenly, look up at him expectantly.

Harry frowned and ran a hand through his hair. In his organizing he'd come across the memory the dementors made him relive. The memory he had found was crisp and clear in the beginning, he could clearly hear his parents' final word, see the fear in his mother's eyes as she stood between him and the shadowed figure of Voldemort. He must have fallen unconscious when the killing curse hit him, because there was only pitch black for a few moments after the bright green of the killing curse.

But then the memory continued, dim and a bit choppy, but there. He'd seen Snape crying over his mother's body, which creeped him out far more than he could even begin to express, and then sneaking away as Sirius cam roaring in on his motorbike. He'd been shocked at how much different Sirius looked in his memory compared to the one in the present.

Memory Sirius had been slim, yes, but he'd had defined muscles rippling under his Muggle t-shirt and denims, was well as a warm golden tan gracing his youthful skin. It had shocked Harry how much older, and paler, present day Sirius looked compared to the one in his memory, how much frailer the man looked now.

The memory had showed Sirius, tear tracks on his face, as he stepped carefully over Lily and scooped Harry up, trying to sooth baby Harry's tears. Harry had felt a twinge in his chest at the sight of his Godfather, so shaken, holding him tightly and fussing over the open cut on his forehead.

Then Hagrid had come. And Sirius had handed Harry over like a parcel to be delivered. Leaving him to be taken to his Aunt's while Sirius when tearing off, seeking revenge.

Harry had felt so angry after viewing that memory, his emotions had clouded his entire mindscape, forcing him to retreat back into the real world.

" _It's okay to be angry, Harry. It's okay to feel betrayed. Your feelings are your own, but you have to remember that Sirius didn't intend on leaving you with your Aunt." Mayble had said, "He loves you. You need to talk to him about this. Otherwise you'll never be able to trust him as you wish to."_

Harry knew she was right, but it was hard. Every time he thought about it he could feel the anger and betrayal welling up inside him, and it scared him a little. He didn't want to confront Sirius with his anger, he was still too afraid that Sirius would…well he didn't know what he was so afraid of.

"I still haven't." Harry sighed, running a hand though his hair. "I'm just so afraid I'll get angry and-"

"And what?" Mayble cut him off, frowning at him in concern. "Shout? Cry? What could be so bad that you're afraid of his reaction?"

"I don't know!" Harry huffed, turning away from his teacher. "I don't know, but every time I go to bring it up I…freeze."

"Hmmm…" Harry could feel Mayble's eyes evaluating him. He cringed slightly, waiting for a sharp retort or sarcastic reply as she was so good at providing. "I think I've taught you all I can about ordering your memories."

Harry started and turned to look at her in surprise. He'd not been expecting the abrupt subject change. "Eh?"

"Yes, I think you've quite got the hang of manipulating your memories and sorting them properly. Impressive to have mastered it so quickly, you're rather a natural." Mayble shot him a proud look, causing a flush to creep up Harry's cheeks. It seemed even in his own mindscape he couldn't hide his embarrassment.

"Er…thanks," Harry rubbed a hand through his hair, but brushed off his confusion. "So what's the next step?"

"I think you're ready to start trying to keep me out, building defenses is tremendously easier once you've sorted what you're trying to defend." Mayble smirked at him, "So, first lesson. I've attacked and infiltrated your mind. How do you keep me from finding whatever memory I want?"

Harry stared at her for a moment, thinking quickly. "Well, whatever I do I'd need to do quickly and effectively…having a drawn out battle in here could really damage my mind."

"Very good," Mayble praised, "So you have a couple choices, you could try and throw me out using pure force-"

"Which would risk failing and allowing you to retaliate and damage my memories, or risk missing you and damaging my mind on my own." Harry cut in, frowning at the thought.

"True. Your other choice would be to use trickery to confuse your enemy." Mayble replied.

"But how would that get them out?" Harry asked, cocking is head. Mayble just smiled and raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to try and think it through on his own. "I guess I could try and force them around in circles until they lost the magical power necessary to hold the Legilimency probe…"

"That's one way to do it," Mayble agreed, "Can you think of any other?"

"Well…I could…" Harry frowned and racked his brains for a moment before brightening, "Oh! If I knew what they were after I could create false memories for them to find, or just allow them to find certain memories while hiding others! They would leave thinking they got what they wanted, but my memories would still be protected!"

"Very good, Harry!" Mayble positively beamed at him. "You could always use a blend of the two methods as well. Using a more direct, blunt force approach with your outer layers of defense, but using subtler methods as…I guess you could call it a back up plan."

Harry nodded, thinking deeply. The streams of memory around him seemed to speed up and random memories seem to flash to the forefront every so often. "Hmmm…that could work…and if I…" Harry continued to mumble to himself for several minutes before Mayble broke him out of his planning.

"Before you get too lost in plans why don't we start learning _how_ to set up mental defenses?" Mayble said, a smirk on her face. Harry blushed and ducked his head. "Now first things first…"

ooOoo

Harry gasped for breath as he leaned back in the rigid, high-backed chair. Mayble sat across from him, a small smile on her face as she waited for him to settle.

"I…hate you…" Harry wheezed. "How…are you…not…just as tired…as me?"

"Lots of practice, sugar quill." Mayble said, her small smile turning into a full smirk. "Now, stop your chatting and catch your breath so we can speak properly."

Harry nodded, after cringing at Mayble's new pet name for him. She'd started calling him a different magical candy every she'd come for lessons and Harry couldn't help but shudder to think what she would come up with in the future. Shaking himself, he relaxed into his chair, well as much as he could, the chair wasn't very comfortable. He barely noticed Mayble pulling out and book to read as she waited.

After a few moments his breathing started to slow down, he reached over and took a great gulp of the water he'd asked Dobby for before they'd started.

"Alright, I'm better now." He sighed, causing Mayble to look up form the book she'd been busying herself with.

"Good," She said, closing her book with a sharp snap. "You seemed to be picking up the techniques I was showing today quite well, practice on setting up some light misdirection layers this week and we'll test them out when I come back for our next lesson."

Harry nodded again, already thinking about what he could use to stump his Slytherin teacher.

"Right, well before you get too wrapped up in whatever you're plotting," Mayble laughed, seeing the thoughtful gleam in the young wizard's eye. Harry looked at her sheepishly. "There's one other thing we need to do before I leave this evening."

"Oh, there is?" Harry cocked his head, confusion etched on his face.

It was Mayble's turn to nod, "Yup, come on then." She stood and moved towards the door, leaving Harry to scramble after her, trying to catch up with her swift pace.

Harry trotted along after her, trying to puzzle out where she was going. She seemed to be headed somewhere with a purpose, the library perhaps? Maybe she wanted to set him so reading about the new techniques?

Harry was confused even further when Mayble passed right by the library and continued down the hall at a rather fast clip. He was just opening he mouth to ask her, again, where they were going, when she suddenly stoped. Right outside of Sirius' study door.

Harry shut his mouth, a feeling of dread settling in his gut as he watched Mayble rap smartly on the closed door. He could only think of one reason Mayble would think it necessary to speak with Sirius about Harry's Occlumency lessons.

Harry's anger with Sirius was something she'd brought up during every session since they'd first started organizing his mind. He'd always brushed off her questions, deflected her insistence that he speak to Sirius about it by saying he was planning to.

"It's open," Sirius' voice called from inside the room, he sounded distracted.

Harry's shoulders slumped, obviously Mayble was tired of Harry's avoidance of this issue. He grimaced as he stepped into the small, brightly lit room, Mayble's hand firm on his back. He couldn't help but think this was going to be an extremely uncomfortable discussion.

"Mayble! Harry!" Sirius exclaimed happily when they'd stepped completely into the room. Harry had to roll his eyes fondly at that, who else would it have been?

"Siri," Mayble greeted, an amused smirk gracing her own features as well. "There's something I think Harry needs to speak to you about,"

Sirius turned a curious gaze onto Harry. Harry wouldn't meet the man's eyes, instead casting a furious glare at Mayble. The boy's discomfort in the situation was evident in the way he was standing, stiff and turned slightly away from the other two people in the room. His hands were tangled tightly in the hem of this shirt.

"Right…" Sirius said uncertainly, "Well why don't we all sit and have a cuppa while we chat?" He stood and moved around the desk, leading them towards the small cluster of armchairs by the fire.

"That sounds like an brilliant idea," Mayble said, she gave Harry a small nudge when it looked as though he wasn't going to follow Sirius.

He cast another vicious glare at her before taking the chair farthest from Sirius, though it had the disadvantage of being directly across from the man, forcing Harry to face him. Sirius called Kreature and asked for a full tea service, then busied himself playing Mum for a few moments.

Once everyone had a cup of hot tea and were settled in their seats an uncomfortable silence fell over them. Sirius seemed to be waiting for either Mayble or Harry to begin, and Mayble seemed determined for Harry to do the honors.

"So…does this have to do with your Occlumency training?" Sirius asked, breaking after a few moments. Not that you'd know it was uncomfortable by looking at Mayble, she seemed to be as serene as if just sitting and enjoying a cup of tea with friends.

Harry shrugged, keeping his eyes trained on the fire, flickering merrily behind the grate.

"Er…" Sirius floundered, Harry saw, out of the corner of his eyes, the man turn to look confusedly at Mayble. Mayble heaved a sigh and placed her tea cup down on the small table between hers and Sirius' chairs.

"Harry." Harry jerked his head up to glare at the former Slytherin. "Enough of your sulking. This wont go away on it's own, and having those feelings linger, unresolved, will only cause problems for you down the road. Both with Occlumency and with your relationship with Sirius."

Harry ducked his head again, a blush of shame heating his cheeks. He didn't want to talk to Sirius about his feelings at all, let alone the veritable rage he felt overtime he thought of the man he was growing to respect handing him off like it was nothing.

He knew it wasn't truly Sirius' fault, the man hadn't known he'd be railroaded into Azkaban after all, nor had he known that Harry would be shipped off to the Dursleys'. But still…

Harry sighed and raised his head to meet Sirius' gaze. The older man's grey eyes were wide, worry glinting through them. Harry took a deep breath, but still the words just wouldn't come.

"It's okay, Pup, you can tell me anything," Sirius murmured, obviously trying to reassure Harry.

The breath whooshed out of Harry and he sent a pleading gaze at Mayble, silently asking her for help. She seemed to understand but only reached over to squeeze his hand. She wanted him to do this on his own.

"I…I found a memory." Harry said finally. His voice wobbled, but at least he got the words out.

"A memory?" Sirius prompted when Harry fell silent again.

"Yes, I found the memory of the night my parents…the night Volde..the night it happened." Harry finished lamely, unable to say the words. He noticed a concerned frown on Sirius' face and plowed on before the man could say anything. "It started as the memory the dementors force me to see…Voldemort killing them, and then trying to kill me but…"

Harry took a deep breath, it was now or never. He ducked his head, unable to meet Sirius' eyes. "But then it continued. I saw you come to get me…you were so upset, not that I blame you, and you picked me up…and you were going to take me away, but then Hagrid showed up." Harry stoped talking, he was afraid of the anger beginning to boil in his stomach.

"Harry I…" Sirius started, but Mayble cut him off with a hand on his arm, much to Harry's relief. After a moment of silence, broken only but he popping of the fire, Harry released another deep breath.

"You looked relived." He said tonelessly, "You looked so relived to pass me over to Hagrid. You couldn't wait to get rid of me so you could go after Peter…" Harry hugged himself, but couldn't stop the angry words now spilling from him.

"You said it was a mistake, but you looked as if there was nothing you'd rather do that hand me off to someone else! Revenge was more important to you! I know I'm not your son, but I thought-" Harry cut himself off with a gasp, his hands were shaking so he curled them into fists and jammed them under his armpits.

"I thought there was someone, besides my parents, someone _alive_ that wanted me." He blinked rapidly, trying to hold back the tears pooling at the corners of his eyes. "But you were so _happy_ to be rid of me."

"No, _no,_ Harry!" Sirius said, finally regaining his voice. He'd been stunned into silence by the anger and hurt rolling off of his Godson during his tale. "I was so _stupid_ that night, Harry! But never, _never_ , doubt that I love you. I've always done, ever since you were born. That will never change," Harry watched with wide eyes as Sirius stood abruptly and dropped down in front of him, grabbing his arms tightly and looking into his eyes. "I will _always_ want you, Harry."

Harry took a shuddering breath, unconscious of the tears beginning to leak from his eyes and spill down his cheeks. "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shouted, I just…why did you give me away so easily?"

"No, there's nothing to apologize for," Sirius said, pulling Harry into a tight hug. Harry relaxed bonelessly into the embrace as Sirius started speaking again, carding a hand through his hair at the same time. "You can come to me about anything, Pup. We'll work through whatever it is, if you need to shout, shout. I'll never send you away again. Now, about that night…I _do_ regret giving you to Hagrid,"

Sirius tightened his hold on him as Harry stiffened and made to jerk away, "No, Pup, listen to me. I know I was…enthusiastic…about leaving you with Hagrid and going after Peter that night, but…well, like they say 'pensieved memories are always clearer.'"

Harry cocked his head at that, pulling back slightly to get a better look at his Godfather. "You mean like 'hindsight is twenty twenty'?" he asked with a slight smile at the man's bewildered look. "It means you can always see mistakes you made clearer when looking back at them."

"Yes, exactly," Sirius said, relief coloring his tone. with one last squeeze he let Harry go and stood to go back to his chair. "Oi, where did Mayble go?"

Harry gave a strangled laugh, "She probably snuck out when you hugged me," He said, trying to quickly wipe the now dry tear tracks from his face.

"Probably," Sirius grumbled, sitting down and picking his tea cup back up. He frowned down at it for a second before muttering the incantation for a warming charm. Glancing up he gestured with his wand and sent the same charm over to warm Harry's cup as well.

"So…you…regret handing me off…now?" Harry asked hesitantly, wrapping his still shaking hands around his now warm cup.

"Of course I do," Sirius said, he ran a hand through his hair. "I was so scared when I got to Godric's Hollow. I saw smoke coming from the cottage, and the closer I got the more damage I saw. The entire second floor looked like it was caved in…"

Harry sat forward, hanging on Sirius' every word.

"I was so afraid you were all dead. James was the only real family I'd ever had, my own family hated me for not being Slytherin or dark enough, my brother Regulus had joined the Death Eaters as soon as he graduated form Hogwarts…" Sirius sighed again.

Harry watched him sadly, only now beginning to understand what Sirius had gone through.

"I was so frightened that my best friend and his whole family was gone, that my Godson was dead after only being in the world for just over a year." Sirius looked up at him, a haunted expression marring his features. "I didn't stop to think about how Voldemort had found you until I had you safely in my arms. I'd just come to the conclusion that Peter had betrayed us when Hagrid showed up, and I dealt with my feelings of betrayal and fear the only why I knew how…by getting angry."

Harry leaned back in his seat, pulling his cup to his chest. His thoughts were rolling, he truly could understand Sirius' feelings now that he knew the whole story. Harry felt shame well up in him, he'd been so selfish! Of course Sirius regretted his decisions that night, hadn't they lead to the man landing in Azkaban?

As if reading his thoughts Sirius began speaking again. "If the only consequence of my own stupidity had been getting chucked in Azkaban I could live with that…I'd still be right angry, but I doubt I'll every be able to forgive myself for leaving you to be left with those bloody muggles."

Harry blinked owlishly at Sirius for a moment before slumping forward and taking a deep breath, a smile forming on his face. "I really am sorry, Sirius." He said quietly but raised his voice when Sirius when to interrupt him. "No, really. I was so angry with you, but I wasn't thinking of how you'd been feeling that night. You couldn't have known how it all would turn out."

"It's understandable to be angry Harry," Sirius said quietly.

"I know, thats what Mayble's been telling me. She's been trying to get me to talk to you about this for weeks now," Harry muttered, ducking his head in embarrassment.

"Well, she was right." Sirius said simply, a smile gracing his face.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." They fell into a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts, quietly sipping their tea.


End file.
